| No. 5 – Montana State Bobcats | |
|---|---|
| Position | Defensive back |
| Class |  |
| Personal information | |
| Born | June 28, 2003 [1] |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Billings West (Billings, Montana) |
| College | Montana State (2022–present) |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
| Stats at ESPN | |
Caden Andrew Dowler (born June 28, 2003) [1] is an American college football defensive back for the Montana State Bobcats.
Caden Andrew Dowler was born in 2003 to Justin and Michelle Dowler, along with his twin brother, McLean "Taco" Dowler. [2] [3] Caden is older by one minute. [4] At age two, the twins were nicknamed "Burrito" and "Taco", though Caden's nickname only stuck "for like six months" while his brother's nickname carried on into adulthood: [3] "I couldn't stand when people called me that, so I switched back, and, you know, he just kept it." [5]
In his first season of youth football, Dowler was made a lineman because the coaches thought he was too slow. [6] He admittedly did not like football at first and played American Legion Baseball for the Billings Scarlets, [3] [7] but he was convinced by his brother to return to the field for high school football. [6]
Dowler attended Billings West High School in Billings, Montana, where he earned nine varsity letters in football, basketball, and track and field. [8] He played quarterback as a freshman and cornerback as a sophomore. [9] Dowler then spent his final two years as a safety, wide receiver, long snapper and returner, helping the Golden Bears reach back-to-back Class AA state title games alongside his brother Taco. [9] As a senior in 2021, he recorded 848 all-purpose yards and 10 total touchdowns, along with 50 tackles, seven pass breakups, and three interceptions. Dowler was a first-team all-state honoree at safety and a second-team all-state honoree at wide receiver, as well as a first-team all-conference selection at both positions. [10] He was also selected to play in the 75th Montana East-West Shrine Game. [11]
Dowler was rated as a three-star recruit and the second-best player in the state of Montana in the class of 2022, according to 247Sports, [12] with Taco ranked as the third-best. [13] The brothers were both offered by Montana State University (MSU) after Billings West's state playoff semifinal win in 2020. [14] They later visited MSU for the Bobcats' Gold Rush game in 2021 against Drake, with each saying the trip "sealed the deal" for them. [15] Dowler verbally committed to playing college football at MSU on September 13, 2021, choosing to stay in his home state after also having received offers from Navy and Northern Colorado; Taco committed to MSU the same day. [15]
After suffering a preseason injury, Dowler began his freshman year in 2022 as the fourth-string safety on the depth chart. [16] He recorded four tackles in eight games played, [10] mainly in a special teams role. [17] In 2023, Dowler underwent an intense offseason competition with senior Level Price, Jr. for the starting nickelback job following the graduation of Ty Okada. [18] The two were named co-starters at the position ahead of the team's season opener against Utah Tech. [19] Dowler recorded his first career interception in the subsequent 63–20 win over the Trailblazers. [20] However, he suffered a leg injury in their next game against South Dakota State, which he then re-aggravated in practice, causing him to be ruled out for the rest of the season. [21] The injury was later confirmed to be an ACL tear; Dowler finished with five tackles and one interception and received a redshirt for the 2023 season. [10] [22] He was then moved to free safety ahead of the 2024 season due to injuries at the position. [10] [23] Dowler started the first six games of the year at free safety and nickelback before suffering another ACL tear. [24] [25] He finished the season with 12 tackles and one tackle for loss, [25] and the Bobcats reached the FCS national championship game. [26]
Dowler was elected a team captain by his teammates ahead of the 2025 season, [27] entering the campaign as the starting strong safety. [25] He was also the only defensive back on the roster with any previous starting experience. [25] MSU defensive coordinator Shawn Howe praised Dowler's leadership and communication skills, saying that having him on the team was "almost like having another hand on the coaching staff". [28] He posted a team-high 10 tackles in their season-opening loss to AP No. 7 Oregon. [29] Two weeks later, Dowler recorded his first career sack in a win over San Diego. [30] In November, he earned Big Sky defensive player of the week honors after tallying seven tackles, an interception, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup in a victory over Weber State. [31] Dowler was described by MSU head coach Brent Vigen as the "quarterback of the defense" after the game. [32] He repeated as Big Sky defensive player of the week the following week after he intercepted two passes, one of which he returned for 83 yards for a touchdown, to go with a forced fumble, a pass breakup, and a team-high 12 tackles in a win over UC Davis. [33] The following week, Dowler returned another interception for a touchdown in a 31–28 comeback win over Montana in the Brawl of the Wild, which clinched the Big Sky title for MSU; the play was described by 406 MT Sports as the "signature moment of [his] comeback campaign". [34] He became the first Bobcat to win a weekly conference award in three consecutive weeks, [35] and was also named the Stats Perform FCS national defensive player of the week. [36]
Dowler recorded an interception in back-to-back wins over Yale and Stephen F. Austin to open the FCS playoffs, marking his sixth interception in five games. [37] However, he suffered a wrist injury during MSU's semifinal win over Montana while tackling Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman, and did not return to the game. [38] [39]
Dowler was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, [40] and was selected as a first-team FCS All-American by numerous publications. [41] He was also announced as a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award. [42]
