Taco Dowler

Last updated

Taco Dowler
No. 14 – Montana State Bobcats
Position Wide receiver
ClassJunior
Personal information
Born (2003-06-28) June 28, 2003 (age 22) [1]
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school Billings West (Billings, Montana)
College Montana State (2022–present)
Awards and highlights
Stats at ESPN

McLean "Taco" Dowler [2] (born June 28, 2003) [1] is an American college football wide receiver for the Montana State Bobcats. He is the twin brother of Caden Dowler, a defensive back for the Bobcats. [3]

Contents

Early life

McLean Dowler was born in 2003 to Justin and Michelle Dowler, along with his twin brother, Caden Dowler; [4] [3] though McLean is only younger by one minute. [5] At the age of two, the twins were nicknamed "Burrito" and "Taco", though Caden's nickname only stuck "for like six months" while McLean Dowler's nickname carried on into adulthood. [3]

Dowler has not confirmed exactly how he was given the nickname "Taco". Local media outlets suspect one of two stories: Dowler either supposedly earned the nickname "Taco" after a younger him was in a Taco Bell drive-thru with his family when he blurted out, "That's my name", or a young Dowler was sitting at a table one morning and simply stated, "My name is Taco", and then got angry at anyone who called him by McLean instead of Taco. [6]

Career

Dowler attended Billings West High School with his brother in Billings, Montana. [7] He broke numerous school records and was named the Montana Gatorade Player of the Year. [8] Dowler committed to Montana State in 2021 and began attending the Montana State University in 2022. He was ranked as the third-best in the state of Montana in the class of 2022, according to 247Sports. [9] [10]

On January 5, 2026, Dowler and the Montana State Bobcats won the 2026 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game 35–34 in overtime; in the game, Dowler had 8 receptions, 111 receiving yards, and the game-winning receiving touchdown in overtime. [11]

References

  1. 1 2 @CoachUdy (June 28, 2023). "Happy Birthday #14!!! Have a great day. #AirRock💨🪨 @MSUBobcats_FB @DowlerTaco 🌮😼🎂" (Tweet). Retrieved January 6, 2026– via Twitter.
  2. ↑ Heyen, Billy (January 6, 2026). "Why Montana State's Taco Dowler goes by that nickname instead of his real name". Sporting News. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Conlon, Casey (October 7, 2020). "Double trouble: Dowler twins lead Billings West to perfect start". Montana Sports. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Babies 2003". Billings Gazette . January 25, 2004. p. 17F – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. ↑ Whittle, Robbie (May 2, 2023). "MSU's Dowler twins both hard workers with very different personalities". NBC Montana . Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  6. ↑ Scherting, Mike (November 19, 2020). "It's Taco's time: Billings West WR has uncanny ability to make the big play at the right moment". 406 MT Sports. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  7. ↑ "The best of the best; Caden Dowler, Billings West". Billings Gazette . May 18, 2022. p. B2 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  8. ↑ "Taco Dowler Gatorade 2021 - 2022: Player of the Year Football". Gatorade. 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  9. ↑ Flores, Victor (September 13, 2021). "Billings West's Dowler twins, Florence's Abbott commit to Montana State for football". 406 MT Sports. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Taco Dowler". 247Sports . Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  11. ↑ Higgins, Grady (January 5, 2026). "Montana State football outlasts Illinois State in OT for national title". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
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