All 6-feet-2-inches and 230-pounds of Artaveous Dowdell anchors the Panthers’ defensive line.

The red-shirt senior defensive end has led the Panthers in sacks in each of the last two seasons, and is off to a quick start in 2012.

The Belle Glade, Fla., native ranks second on the team in tackles for loss (3.5), and is tied for the team-lead in sacks with two. He has also broken up two passes and has forced and recovered a fumble.

Dowdell knows that he is counted on to provide the Panthers with a consistent pass rush that will keep the opposing quarterback uncomfortable in the pocket.

“Well, game in and game out I know the team is counting on me on 3rd down and 4th down to get a good pass rush,” he said. “That’s what I take pride in. I just look to get better in practice everyday so when my number is called, I’ll show up.”

Last season, Dowdell produced in every game, and as a result, he was a Second Team All-OVC selection. He ranked second in the Ohio Valley Conference in sacks and led the team with 7.5 tackles for loss.

“Artaveous Dowdell, our defensive end, is one of the premier defensive ends in our league,” head coach Dino Babers said. “We expect great things from him.”

Dowdell was a member of the 2009 OVC championship team and feels that this team is capable of making a special run during his senior season.

“My biggest accomplishment was in 2009 when we won the OVC championship,” he said. “We just need to build off the good things we did last year and stick together. If we stick together a lot of things could be accomplished.”

He also said the newly implemented up-tempo offense is an advantage for the defense because they practice against an offense that is capable of scoring 40-plus points each game.

“It gives us an advantage because we know we are in shape,” he said. “That’s the key thing here. It just gives us a different element of football going against that kind of offense everyday.”

The Panther defense has produced at key points this season, but with Eastern’s up-tempo offense, it has caused the defense to spend the majority of the game on the field.

“We just look at it that our offense goes out there and handles business, and we just got to get back on the field and get the ball back for our offense,” Dowdell said.

Eastern’s defense is on the field for an OVC-high 35.6 minutes per game. Despite these numbers, they rank near the top in rushing defense, sacks and red-zone defense.

“I feel like our defense is up for a challenge every week,” Dowdell said. “Our coaches hold us to high standards, and we come out looking to get better each and every week.”

Although the Panthers are tough against the run, they rank near the bottom of the conference in passing yards against per game, something Dowdell feels like will change as the team gets more comfortable with the new defensive scheme.

“The first couple weeks we were coming off of summer and fall camp and were still getting adjusted to the new defense,” he said. “After playing a few games together we see where we need to be, what we need to do and each week we are getting better and better.”

Dowdell and the Panthers will get their first chance to improve on the defensive side when they host Austin Peay at 1:30 p.m. Saturday for Family Weekend.

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at 581-2812 or jbpottorff@eiu.edu.