Authorities were searching this morning for a former NFL player from Gibson who fell overboard while boating on a lake in Texas.

JaJuan Dawson, 37, of Murphy, Texas, went overboard about 6:30 p.m., according to the Collin County Sheriff’s Department. He was not wearing a life jacket. Several family members were aboard but none were injured. Alcohol use was not suspected.

Authorities spent several hours Sunday looking for Dawson in Lavon Lake, in a state park about 35 miles northeast of Dallas, and resumed the search today.

Starting on the playgrounds in Gibson, Dawson made a name for himself as a standout athlete, and his journey continued with stops at H.L. Bourgeois High School in Gray, Tulane University in New Orleans and eventually the National Football League.

During Dawson’s senior season in 1994, the Braves struggled, finishing with a 1-9 record. The quarterback and defensive back was one of the few bright spots on the team, finishing the season passing for 1,455 yards and seven touchdowns, rushing for 742 yards and eight scores and intercepting a pass.

He switched to wide receiver at Tulane and played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, one with the Houston Texans and spent time with the Indianapolis Colts. In 2004, he went to training camp with the New York Giants and was later released.

“JaJuan was an outstanding athlete, but more than that, he was an outstanding young man in the classroom amongst his peers,” former H.L. Bourgeois Athletic Director Gerald Albert said today. “He was a natural leader. In the years I was at H.L. Bourgeois, he was probably one of the best all-around student-athletes.”