Ask Jim Reid about Ras-I Dowling, and the first thing he does is apologize.

“I’m sorry,” said Reid, who is the associate head coach and defensive coordinator at the University of Virginia. “I’m not objective about him. I love the guy. He embodies everything a player should be. He’s a high-character guy, he works hard and he’s terrific. You don’t have to worry about him doing something unprofessional. He’s just a great role model.

“He’s the type of guy honestly, as a parent, you just get on your knees and pray he’s the kind of guy your daughter brings home one day.”

High praise for Dowling, a two-time All-ACC second-team selection with UVA who was taken in the second round with the 33rd overall pick in last weekend’s NFL draft by the Patriots. Dowling — whose first name is pronounced rahs-eye — a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder, had his best year as a junior, when he recorded three interceptions, eight pass breakups and 58 tackles.

In all, he registered eight interceptions in his collegiate career. Dowling started 25 of 40 games at right corner for Virginia, recording 160 tackles (including 115 solos) with six sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss of 24 yards. In addition, he became the 11th player in school history to lead the team in interceptions in consecutive seasons, and in 2007, he became the first true freshman to lead the Cavs in interceptions.

As for a scouting report on Dowling, Reid said he’s a cornerback in name only, and lends some credence to the belief that he might provide some positional versatility with a move to safety sometime in the future.

“He can play bump and run and he can play man seven yards off the line. He can play whatever you need,” Reid said. “The guy looks like a linebacker when you see him. He’s a remark physical guy from a height and speed standpoint. The way he works in the weight room, he’s a well developed guy who takes care of his body. He’s an imposing corner — Ras-I is a very good man-to-man player. He’s quick — he can open his hips and run.”

According to Reid — a Medford native who has served as head coach at UMass (1986-91) and Richmond (1995-2003), as well as a two-year stint as the outside linebackers coach with the Dolphins (2008-2009) — what sets Dowling apart is a near-obsessive need to improve every day.  

“When it comes to football, the guy is tough and physical and he wants to be a great player on every play,” Reid said. “Not five or seven or 10 plays a game, but every play when he’s on the field.

“He’ll be five minutes early to every meeting and he’ll stay as late as he needs to. I was around Jason Taylor and Joey Porter, and they would always ask for extra tape on guys. Guys like that who worked hard; you would stay up late to help them. Ras-I is that type of guy.”

The knock on Dowling is that he was unable to stay on the field last season — after three mostly healthy years where he emerged as one of the finest cornerbacks in the ACC, he only played five games as a senior because of a rash of injuries, which included a hamstring pull, a left ankle fracture and right knee injury. That came on the heels of a hamstring and back injury which slowed him briefly in 2008. (In addition, he pulled a hamstring in at the combine, and had a broken hand and a knee injury in high school.)

Reid said that the injuries that dogged him a senior were essentially flukes — one was accidentally inflicted by a teammate, and another came when he twisted his knee in practice — and his standout performance at his Pro Day is the sort of example every professional team needed that he is where he needs to be as the NFL looms before him.

“He has the makeup and the character and the lifestyle where he will strive to be a great pro,” Reid said. “He won’t talk about it and then go do something else that isn’t part of being a great pro. He’s going to work at being a great pro 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”

As a rookie, Dowling likely projects as an extra corner in a group that includes Leigh Bodden, Devin McCourty, Kyle Arrington, Darius Butler and Jonathan Wilhite, and figures to join a positional battle that figures to be very interesting this year with the return of Bodden from injured reserve. While it’s still too early to project where he’ll land on the depth chart, if he is indeed fully healthy, Dowling’s special teams skills figure to have him on the field sooner rather than later. He finished with a team-high 21 tackles in kick and punt coverage as a freshman, and the Patriots have always valued young defensive backs who can also play special teams. 

“I think the fans will grow to love Ras-I. I don’t know how you can’t,” Reid said. “He’s going to give the fans what they want — 100 percent effort on and off the field. I think the fans of New England will really love him.”