TicketsSean Dawkins is entering his second season on the Cincinnati staff as the running backs coach for head coach Scott Satterfield.
Dawkins came to UC from Memphis. He has more than 16 years of experience as a running backs coach, including with the Tigers, Charlotte and his alma mater, Troy.
Dawkins made an immediate impact on Cincinnati’s running game in 2024 as the Bearcats rushed for an average of 184.1 yards per game - good for sixth in the nation’s top rushing conference. Running back Corey Kiner recorded the 21st 1,000-yard rushing season in Cincinnati history, becoming just the fifth Bearcat with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons all-time. Kiner was a workhorse for UC, averaging 96.1 yards per game and tallying six 100-yard performances. Per PFF, his 80 missed tackles forced ranked second in the Power 4 and fourth in the FBS.
Transfer running back Evan Pryor made his mark with the Bearcats, too. In the first significant action of his career, he rushed for 418 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 7.46 yards per carry, which was second in the Big 12. He proved to be one of the nation’s top big play threats as he finished with 622 all-purpose yards and seven total scores, including an incredible four touchdowns of 55 yards or more.
At Memphis, Dawkins helped lead the Tigers to a pair of bowl victories during his two seasons on staff. He mentored running back Blake Watson, who rushed for 1,152 yards and scored 17 total touchdowns en route to All-AAC First Team accolades in 2023. The Tigers finished 10-3, ranking No. 14 in the nation in total offense (458.5) last fall.
At Charlotte, Dawkins guided running back Shadrick Byrd to Conference USA All-Freshman team honors in 2021 and Aaron McCallister to honorable mention all-league accolades in 2020.
In 2019, Charlotte led its conference in rushing (200.38), totaling a school-record 2,639 rushing yards. The 49ers set a school record for wins (seven) and earned a trip to their first-ever bowl game. Dawkins coached First Team All-Conference USA running back Benny LeMay, who rushed for 1,072 yards and signed a free agent contract with the Cleveland Browns.
He coached running backs at Troy in 2018, helping the Trojans to a 10-3 mark and a victory in the Dollar General Bowl.
Dawkins spent one season at Austin Peay in 2017, leading the No. 6 rushing attack (258.8 yards per game) in the FCS. The Govs finished 8-4, completing one of the best turnarounds in all of college football in his lone year on the staff. Austin Peay entered that fall coming off a 1-44 stretch since 2013.
He spent six seasons as the running backs coach at Murray State (2010-13, 2015-16) with one year at Chattanooga (2014) in between. He also coached at West Texas A&M and Huntingdon College.
As a player at Troy, he helped lead the Trojans to their first two bowl appearances (2004, 2006) and two Sun Belt titles (2006, 2007). He finished his career with more than 700 all-purpose yards and four rushing touchdowns. He graduated from Troy with a degree in social science in 2007.
Dawkins is engaged to Suan Allen. They have a daughter Kaaliyah Dawkins, and he has an older daughter, Hazel Highsmith.