Shen lineman Dylan Blowers commits to Stonehill
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. – It is one of the smallest National Letter of Intent signing days of the year, but some of the biggest athletes on the field made their college commitments official, including 6-foot 4-inch 285 pound Shenendehowa offensive lineman Dylan Blowers.
The New York State thirdteam Class AA offensive lineman chose Division II Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts near Boston as his home for the next four years.
“I just felt really comfortable on campus and everything,” Dylan Blowers said. “The coaching staff was nice, that feeling when you get on campus, you just feel it when you get there you just know that’s the school.
“Everything they provided with all the financial help and everything, it was just the perfect fit.”
Blowers was flanked by his biggest fan, his mom, Christine, Wednesday afternoon
inside the newly renovated Shenendehowa High School East and it was standing room only for the senior, filled with friends and fans of both members of the Blowers family.
“Watching Dylan grow on and off the field has been amazing,” Christine Blowers said. “I’m a single mom and these coaches have been kind of father-figures, the players, some of the dads that are here were all instrumental in everything that’s happening right now.
“He’s worked so hard on the field, in the classroom, community service, being a great friend, being a great son, brother, weight room, everything coach has asked him to do he’s stepped right up to the plate. It’s been amazing watching him flower into this man who I am in awe of every day.”
The appreciation was echoed by Plainsmen football coach Brian Clawson who spotted the largerthan-life Blowers as a freshman in gym class.
“He started his first game against Troy in 2016 and he was 15-years-old at the time, he’s younger for his grade and it’s great to see how he developed socially through his junior and senior year,” Clawson said. “His senior year after being selected captain he took on a great leadership role and he was really the voice of our football team. He would be the guy that was really the voice of reason when things weren’t going well.
“In the Niskayuna game we won by a pretty good amount, but he got the whole team together after we spoke and he said ‘Guys, if we want to accomplish our goals we need to play better than this.’ He really set a high standard for our football team and was really self-assuring, very confident in getting up in front of a group and speaking his mind. That’s sometimes unusual for a 17-yearold guy. It takes a lot of maturity and Dylan had that and that was kind of the Xfactor that Dylan had and brought to the table.”
A two-year offensive line starter and three-year varsity football player, his overall play was an attraction to the Skyhawks coaching staff.
“They liked the attitude I played with, how I finished plays, my size and how I moved freely for how big I am,” Blowers said.
Blowers was a force for the Plainsmen, both as a protector and a mover on the line.
“To be able to have your best lineman be anchored on the quarterback’s blind side was great,” Clawson said. “He and Andy (Weyrauch) worked together on the left side for three years, so when anyone needed to get that extra yard or to get a big gain we could always lean on them on that left side.
“We had a counter play where both of them pulled to the other side; it was equally as effective having them on both sides like that.”
He also developed into a force on defense for the Plainsmen.
“He was a defensive tackle and at the camps that we went to this summer Dylan was a playmaker on defense,” Clawson said. “He had great arm extension, shed well and got to the ball carrier; he had some good pass rush moves. In terms of his development from his junior to senior year you saw the most growth defensively, even though offensively he still was a dominant run blocker and pass blocker.”
He gained attention from St. John Fisher, Endicott College, Cortland and UAlbany, but Stonehill was his top choice.
The distance was perfect for Dylan and his mom, Christine.
“I was thrilled from the word ‘Go,’ but it has to be his choice ultimately so I was quietly in the background taking him to the places he wanted to go to, filling out the paperwork and the second I was at Stonehill and met the coach I knew it was perfect for him,” Christine Blowers said. “The way they have it set up he’ll thrive in that environment.”
“I love the distance now because it’s far enough away where I’m away, but I can come home if anything happens,” Dylan Blowers said. “It’s nice to not be home, but still be able to go home.”
He’s ready to step up once again this fall for the Skyhawks.
“I feel it will be easier because the experience I had, but it’s definitely a little different from being 14 at the time going up against 17-, 18-year-olds, now I’ll be 17 going against men,” Dylan Blowers said. “It’s different, but from the experience I had it will be a little bit easier, but it’s still going to be a big challenge.”
His work has already begun.
“I’ll work on some footwork stuff because in college everything is going to be way faster, everyone is going to be stronger, faster, bigger,” Blowers said. “I have to work on getting bigger, faster, stronger just improve the whole game.”
And he’ll have to adapt to not seeing his biggest fan each day at the end of practice.
“She’s just great,” Dylan Blowers said. “She loves football, she loves me and it’s just a great time at home, always.”