Jamal Dotson
Jamal Dotson
About Jamal
Expert Analysis
Matthew Layton | Prep Redzone Scout
Capital has the top two defensive back prospects in the 2026 class in our eyes, with Jamal Dotson Jamal Dotson 6'0" | 185 lbs | DB Capital | 2026 State WV being our top safety. He’s done a lot of good things this summer at various camps and should have a great senior season for the Cougars. Dotson is another prospect worthy of FCS looks this fall with a strong senior year.
Here’s what we recently said about Dotson in our 2026 Rankings Stock Risers article:
“Capital’s
Jamal Dotson
Jamal
Dotson
6'0" | 185 lbs | DB
Capital | 2026
State
WV
has had a strong showing at various college camps this summer and moves up to #2 in the defensive back rankings for the 2026 class. The Cougars now hold the Top 2 DB spots in our rankings, with classmate
Damian Johnson
Damian
Johnson
5'9" | 165 lbs | DB
Capital | 2026
State
WV
holding onto the #1 spot. Breaking it down positionally, Dotson would be the top safety prospect in the state for 2026 and is rapidly developing heading into his senior year. There’s still room for growth, but the potential for D1 looks is there for him this fall.”
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Read EvaluationMatthew Layton | Prep Redzone Scout
Capital’s
Jamal Dotson
Jamal
Dotson
6'0" | 185 lbs | DB
Capital | 2026
State
WV
has had a strong showing at various college camps this summer and moves up to #2 in the defensive back rankings for the 2026 class. The Cougars now hold the Top 2 DB spots in our rankings, with classmate
Damian Johnson
Damian
Johnson
5'9" | 165 lbs | DB
Capital | 2026
State
WV
holding onto the #1 spot. Breaking it down positionally, Dotson would be the top safety prospect in the state for 2026 and is rapidly developing heading into his senior year. There’s still room for growth, but the potential for D1 looks is there for him this fall.
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Read EvaluationMatthew Layton | Prep Redzone Scout
A second Capital DB that we really like is Jamal Dotson Jamal Dotson 6'0" | 185 lbs | DB Capital | 2026 State WV who’s a safety prospect to know for the Cougars. He and Johnson are a very good tandem in Capital’s secondary where he picked off three passes and totaled 69 tackles and 6 pass breakups as a junior. Dotson is versatile in having the ability to play the run and the pass with quality size to do both. He can get downhill quickly in run support and quick passes but has the athleticism to patrol the back end as well. Dotson earned an offer from WV State before his junior season and should add to that list this year.
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Read EvaluationMatthew Layton | Prep Redzone Scout
Another 2026 DB to know who was also a big stock riser in our 2026 summer rankings update is Jamal Dotson Jamal Dotson 6'0" | 185 lbs | DB Capital | 2026 State WV . Dotson has limited sophomore film available which kept him lower in the rankings before but has had a strong off-season this year which is putting him on college radars. He’s another 2026 Capital prospect that we expect big things from this season and another breakout-year candidate.
Here’s what we said about Dotson in our 2026 summer rankings update stock risers article:
“Another 2026 Capital DB with the same story as Johnson who has impressed at camps this off-reason resulting in a big rankings boost is Jamal Dotson Jamal Dotson 6'0" | 185 lbs | DB Capital | 2026 State WV . Dotson caught the eye of our PRZ Michigan scout Alex Pallone at the EMU Midweek MACtion camp back in early June as one of his top defensive back standouts in attendance which says a lot given the level of competition at a D1 camp and as an out-of-state camper. Dotson backed that up with another strong performance at WV State which saw the home-standing Yellow Jackets extend Dotson his first offer as was the case with two of his teammates in this article.”
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Read EvaluationMatthew Layton | Prep Redzone Scout
New Ranking: 50 | Previous Ranking: 114 | Spots Raised: 64
Another 2026 Capital DB with the same story as Johnson who has impressed at camps this off-reason resulting in a big rankings boost is Jamal Dotson Jamal Dotson 6'0" | 185 lbs | DB Capital | 2026 State WV . Dotson caught the eye of our PRZ Michigan scout Alex Pallone at the EMU Midweek MACtion camp back in early June as one of his top defensive back standouts in attendance which says a lot given the level of competition at a D1 camp and as an out-of-state camper. Dotson backed that up with another strong performance at WV State which saw the home-standing Yellow Jackets extend Dotson his first offer as was the case with two of his teammates in this article.
Dotson has limited film available from last season which him kept lower in the rankings before, but he flashed from what we could watch and knew he’d one day rank higher. That has come sooner than we expected, and we’re excited to see more film of him this season.

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Read EvaluationMatthew Layton | Prep Redzone Scout
Jamal Dotson Jamal Dotson 6'0" | 185 lbs | DB Capital | 2026 State WV is another one of the promising young players in the Capital program who flashed for the Cougars in 2023 as a sophomore. Although he has a limited sample size of highlights available right now, Dotson showed some good things in the film he does have posted and is someone we project to be a talented prospect over the next two years. He has quality size for a young corner at 5’11 175 and flashed the athletic ability to pair with it. Dotson had film of press and off-man coverage who can be relied upon on an island as he showed quality speed on his back pedal and when flipping his hips. I was also impressed with his play recognition on a couple of plays when abandoning his man to help the safety make a play on the ball or to make a tackle. Dotson flashed good recovery speed who can close quickly on the ball as well as quality pursuit speed. We’ll get a better gauge of his talent with more available film, but Dotson appears to have a bright future and debuts as a Top 15 DB in the 2026 class.
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