Catawba Ridge football prospect Joshua Dobson grounded by faith, family and a towel
Joshua Dobson was blessed before he was even born.
Joshua’s mother, Stacie, had Joshua two days after her mom, Shiela, died. Knowing her son would never have the chance to meet his grandmother, Sheila’s friend gifted Stacie a towel to give to Joshua that same week with Shiela’s picture on it. There’s a sentence printed on the towel that reads, “Joshua, Grandma loved you before you were even born.” Stacie kept it on Joshua’s crib. Then, it moved to his bed when he was old enough. Now, it’s always in his game bag before the star cornerback takes the field on Friday nights.
Stacie anoints the towel before every game, putting oil on it and blessing it, just like Sheila used to do for her nephew. Stacie will pray with him before sending him scripture or a quote. Joshua’s dad, Matthew, will send him something, too.
“He’s a very good kid and he looks and takes family to heart,” Stacie said. “So, family is very important to him.”
His circle surrounds him with all the support they can as the football stadium lights power up and every eye rests on the 17-year-old. His junior season at Catawba Ridge starts Friday, but he already has over 40 offers from powerhouse programs like Texas, Alabama, Clemson and Michigan. The 6-foot-1, 175 pounder is considered the best cornerback in thenational class of 2027 and a top-5 recruit..
Last season, Joshua was an All-State and All-Region selection after totaling 48 tackles, 10 pass breakups and three interceptions.
Now, his parents are in more than 10 group chats with prestigious coaches. Matthew said he receives up to seven phone calls every other day. He’s pulled out of class to meet with coaches during the school day. Sometimes, the high school has to figure out different rooms to house them if they come at the same time.
“It will be some days where I get calls and I’m like, ‘Hey, can they just stop for one day?’” Joshua said. “But honestly, I love it because I got to enjoy this recruiting process while I still have it.”
And he loves it because this has long been his dream.
Matthew built his son a small personal gym in the backyard once things started becoming more serious in the sixth grade. Joshua wrote down his three biggest goals at that same time on a chalkboard: become a five star, go to college and then the NFL.
As middle school progressed, he weighed 155 pounds. Sure, he had talent. He was naturally quick. The length and the athleticism were all there, but the muscle wasn’t.
He started meeting with trainer ChaChi Sullivan before he entered high school. Stacie and Matthew drove him to every session. Sullivan challenged Joshua in a way he hadn’t been before.
Over the five years they’ve been working together, Sullivan suspects he’s never given Joshua a true compliment.
Instead, it’s all reality. Sullivan tells Joshua there are five-stars across the country. There are other cornerbacks. He emphasizes that players like Joshua already exist. Joshua likes those reminders.
“He is a very accomplished young man, but I think the secret sauce is not allowing him to sit in it too long,” Sullivan said. “There’s enough people reminding him how good he is, and I want to remind him how far he can go.”
During the offseason, Joshua would have defensive back training on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Tuesdays, it would be weightlifting. He also had to make time to rehabbing. He never wavered from it.
Sullivan thinks it’s all a part of his nature.
“He sees hard work from mom who works in the school system, and dad runs a business,” Sullivan said. “He’s constantly around it. So, he’s actually just modeling what has been modeled to him. We’re seeing it. It’s just coming out in the sport.”
When Joshua wasn’t in the gym in middle school, he reviewed film with Matthew. It’s something he still does. Sometimes they argue or laugh. Sometimes he’ll take the criticism or he’ll push back.
During Joshua’s eighth grade year, Matthew criticized his tackling, prompting Joshua to go out to the backyard and practice on a tackling dummy.
All the work led to college visits by the ninth grade.
He was invited to Duke first during spring break of his freshman year. The coaches there had already seen his game tape. They gave him an offer on the spot. Joshua teared up.
And that was only last April. Since then, offers have rolled in.
Now, recruiting visits have become a family affair. Stacie, Matthew and Joshua’s 10-year-old sister all go.
Joshua will beg his mom to stop taking pictures. They’ll talk to the coaches and learn about the program. Even his little sister will judge the facilities based on the quality of the game room and the candy she’s given. He’s signed autographs at Tennessee and USC.
But away from it all, everything is more normal.
“If you try to rush it on him, it can backfire to you in a different way,” Matthew said. “So, we try to keep him humble, grounded. (We) keep him around family and friends, and just let him still be a teenager.”
They always have a debriefing session after every visit, where they rank each school and make a pros and cons list. They don’t talk about the offers beyond that unless Joshua brings it up.
Joshua has turned down invitations to college football games to go to birthday parties. His parents encourage it. They want him to play video games. They want him to hang out with his friends. Stacie always makes good home-cooked meals for him, and tries to provide whatever comfort she can.
“(My mom) is everything in terms of if I need someone to talk to about life in general, her cooking, just being there for me,” Joshua said. “She’s always there at every game I’m at. So no matter what’s going, she got to be there.”
Still, there’s not a moment where Joshua isn’t thinking about football, he said, or a promising future.
On certain days, when he has time, he’ll sit on his bed in a room decorated with sports memorabilia, jerseys and quotes about playing hard, and toss the ball to himself. He’ll reflect during that time.
He wants to go to a program that pushes him to his full potential. He wants to play more than nine years in the NFL. He wants to be in the Hall of Fame.
“(I’ll) just think about it,” Joshua said. “It’s a blessing. It’s amazing to me. I can go and play somewhere where I know I’ll be developed at a high level.”
But right now, he’s focused on this season. He wants to be Gatorade Player of the Year in South Carolina. He wants to help the team in any way possible. Sullivan believes he can do it.
“If Josh stays mission focused, I don’t think there is a ceiling,” Sullivan said.
Joshua insists that he’s keeping everything in perspective.
“I feel like some kids they get overwhelmed with it, but like me, I just keep on living my life because at the end of the day, I’m still a kid and I understand that,” Dobson said.
So, he’ll keep the same rituals he had this season. The towel will be in his bag. He’ll see his mom at the top of the staircase on the bleachers and she’ll bless him during warm-ups.
There’s only one thing different Joshua will have this season, something that will last a lifetime.
After he convinced Matthew, Dobson got a tattoo inspired by the towel. The same sentence printed on the towel is inked on his left arm. Sheila’s name is tattooed along with her birthday and death date.
It’s a permanent reminder of his support system, the grounding force in a life that’s anything but typical.
This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Catawba Ridge football prospect Joshua Dobson grounded by faith, family and a towel."
