Former Cal Football Star Wide Receiver Sean Dawkins Dies at 52

He was a first-team All-America selection in 1992 before playing nine productive season in the NFL.

Sean Dawkins, one of the most prolific receivers in Cal football history who went on to play nine NFL seasons, died Tuesday. He was 52.

Dawkins was a consensus All-American as a junior in 1992 before being selected 16th in the 1993 NFL draft. He played significant roles on coach Bruce Snyder’s teams of 1990 and ’91 that combined to go 17-6-1 and won two bowl games.

Dawkins was inducted into the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. "His talent was undeniable," said former teammate Dave Barr.

Cal's athletic website listed cause of death as cardiac arrest.

Sean Dawkins dashes into the end zone against USC / Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

Former Cal quarterback Mike Pawlawski recalled what Dawkins, as a sophomore in 1991, brought to the team that went 10-2 and finished the season at No. 8 in the AP Top-25.

"Sean knew that he was going to beat anybody he lined up against," Pawlawski said. "His personality fit our team perfectly. It wasn’t in a hubris way as much as it was a self-belief.

"He was such a fantastic teammate. I do not have one negative story about Sean Dawkins."

Dawkins, who grew up in the Bay Area community of Sunnyvale, caught 120 passes for 2,028 yards with 31 touchdowns during his three seasons with the Bears. His career TD total and his single-season mark of 14 in ’92 both remain Cal records.

At 6-foot-4 with good speed, he was a tremendous deep threat for Pawlawski (1990-91) and Barr (’92). He caught three touchdowns in a game three times.

Pawlawski helped host Dawkins on his campus recruiting visit. "As soon as he stepped on campus, everybody knew. He was not red-shirting. He was so talented," Pawlawski said.

Already committed to the same recruiting class, Barr invited Dawkins to his family’s home in Concord to help sell him on attending Cal. “We played Wiffle ball at the house,” Barr recalled. "He smiled and laughed a lot.”

The two were teammates in the North-South Shrine high school all-star game in Pasadena, where Barr threw him a pair of touchdown passes. 

Years later, in the mid-2000s, Barr moved to the Sacramento area and walked into a Sunday church service only to find Dawkins serving as an usher.

“I hadn’t seen him in years,” Barr said. “We re-connected and just hit it off. He was enjoying life and thriving, snow-boarding, managing real-estate properties and home-schooling his kids. His trajectory post-career was so impressive. Often we’d go to church together. He’d send me parenting books. I have so much respect for him. He’s such a valued friend.”

The ’91 team was Cal’s best in 40 years, featuring not only Pawlawski, the Pac-10 co-Offensive Player of the Year, but running backs Russell White and Lindsay Chapman, receivers Brian Treggs and Mike Caldwell, offensive lineman Todd Steussie and linebacker Jerrott Willard.

The Bears were unbeaten and ranked No. 6 in the nation when No. 3 Washington came to Memorial Stadium. In front of a sellout crowd of 74,500, Dawkins put the Bears in front 7-0 when he beat future NFL cornerback Dana Hall to score a 59-yard TD pass late in the first quarter.

"The whole week he said, `I'll kill Dana Hall,' " Pawlawski recalled Dawkins saying. "He went high-stepping into the end zone and when I ran down there he said, `I told you I'd beat him.' "

Washington got the last word, winning 24-17, but the Bears had one more big moment, beating 13th-ranked Clemson 37-13 in the Florida Citrus Bowl — their first New Year’s Day game in 54 years. Dawkins caught five passes in the game, including a 23-yard touchdown.

Jason Kidd was a freshman on the Cal basketball team when Dawkins was a junior.

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Snyder left Cal for Arizona State after the 1991 season and the Bears skidded to a 4-7 record in Dawkins’ final year. But he caught 65 passes for 1,070 yards with 14 touchdowns, earning team MVP honors, first-team All-Pac-10 plaudits and a spot on the All-America team.

Sean Dawkins during his days with the Indianapolis Colts / Photo by Lou Capozolla, USA Today

The second wide receiver chosen in the ’93 NFL draft, Dawkins played his first five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He played one season with the New Orleans Saints, two with the Seattle Seahawks and closed his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2001.

Colts owner Jim Irsay offered this reaction on Twitter:

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Dawkins caught at least 50 passes in seven consecutive seasons and finished his NFL career with 445 receptions for 6,291 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Dawkins, who lived in the South Bay, is survived by his wife Sachi and their three kids, twin boys Luke and Kam, and daughter Ella.

"Sean was the center of our universe," his wife told Cal. "He was an incredible father and husband."

He was preceded in death by his mother, Sharon Ray, who died at age 53 following a long bout with cancer in 1999 while he was playing for the Seahawks.

Memorial services are pending.

Cover photo of Sean Dawkins by Peter Brouillet, USA Today

 Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo