"I was a two sports player," added Wayne
Dorsey. "At Southwestern, it was all about basketball, as you can
imagine from being brought up in Baltimore. But I was fortunate enough to
have a head coach who played in the NFL. I was just real lucky to be
taught by someone that knew a lot of things that other coaches do not
know. Playing wise, we were a big basketball school. That was the main
focus. I always played good in football and had good coaches who were
pushing and telling me that I could be something special in football, so I
stuck with it."
Dorsey was set to sign with Virginia Tech in
February of '07 until the NCAA never cleared him.
"I qualified. I
had a 3.3 GPA and a 920 on the old SAT format, but I did not clear through
the clearinghouse. I was going to sign with Virginia Tech, but I did not
get cleared. The guy who recruited me for Virginia Tech, Tony
Ball, is now at Georgia."
You can tell by talking to the very
well spoken Dorsey that he still is not quite sure why the clearinghouse
never cleared him the first time.
"My transcripts were not showing
a class or two that I took. To be honest, I never understood it. My father
sent them all of the needed documents over and over again. But they kept
saying that a couple of my classes were not showing up on my official
transcript. I enrolled at Milford Prep (in August of '07) and did
everything I was supposed to do. I was headed to Minnesota (in January of
'08) and they (NCAA clearinghouse) would not clear me again. I was pretty
upset. My family said we are done with this, and I would just go get my
junior college degree."
Why did he choose Mississippi Gulf Coast
CC?
"It was the best fit for me to play right away, and Mississippi
is a passing league. As a defensive end, that is what I wanted, to go get
after the passer. It was not a hard choice at all. The coaches and
environment were just what I was looking for. I can't say enough about
these guys over here."
Dorsey had a breakout freshman season
without even starting a game.
"I played behind a guy who was trying
to get a scholarship, which I did not mind at all. I learned a lot from my
coaches. My defensive line coach, Dorsett Davis (former MSU player) played
in the NFL. And my other coach, Stephen Moore (former Ole Miss player)
also played in the league for a long time with the Ravens. I grew up
watching him as a kid. I have just been soaking up their knowledge and
making the needed adjustments when I am having problems. They are always
there for me, and they have been nothing but tremendous for my growth as a
player and as a person. As far as the adjustments, it has been easy. The
season started out slow, but I made the adjustment around the ICC game.
Everything just started clicking from there. I finished the season with 10
1/2 sacks. I did not even start a game, but I think this year I will have
a good chance to lead the country in sacks."
Wayne has just as big
aspirations for the team.
"We lost two games last year, and we
felt like both games, we just shot ourselves in the foot. We really feel
like we are going to win the national championship this year. If I strive
to play great on every play, I do not see why we can not reach that goal.
That is my only goal this year, just be the best I can be on each
play."
Dorsey, by coincidence, has a teammate that is also from
Baltimore.
"(NG) James
Carmon and I are both from Baltimore. We are roommates, and we talk
about a lot of things. We are real close. If either of us are slacking,
the other will pick each other up. It is like a brotherly bond. We are
both striving to get to the league, and the only way to get there is to
strive for excellence."
What are Dorsey's strengths on the
field?
"Getting after the QB. That is what I love to do. Get on the
edge and come after you. I bring my A game and try to put on a
show."
College recruiters have taken notice as Wayne has already
picked up a couple of SEC offers.
"Tennessee and Ole Miss have
offered me. Right now, that is pretty much it. I have heard through my
coach that Auburn and Georgia have some interest in me too."
The
Rebels were recruiting Wayne's teammate last year and Dorsey struck up a
relationship with one of the Ole Miss assistants..
"I was talking
to Demond
Washington a lot, and he was committed to them. Their coaches were
always coming by the school, so I started talking to Coach Dickerson a
lot. There was a situation where there was a chance the NCAA was going to
clear me in time to enroll at a D1 program in January. If I would have
been cleared, Ole Miss was going to take me. Pittsburgh was also going to
take me. I was talking to them. Auburn and Georgia would have taken me.
That is what my coach told me, but I was not talking to them or anything.
I was mainly talking to Ole Miss and Pittsburgh about transferring over
there in January, but the NCAA did not clear me again. That was like the
third time they made me wait and come back and say I was not cleared. I do
not know. God has just chosen me to go down this road, and now I am along
for the ride."
What did Wayne learn about Ole Miss and
Pittsburgh?
"Ole Miss is on the rise. From a distance, it seems
like Coach Nutt is taking them in a real good direction. They are
definitely a school I want to look into and be a part of it. I think it
would be a real good situation for me at Ole Miss. Pittsburgh, I was not
really talking to anybody that much. They were going through my high
school coach. I did talk to a coach named Frank Junko about getting in
over there in January. They were also one of my options out of prep
school. It would be a good situation for me there too. They practice on
the same facilities that the Steelers do."
Tennessee was the first
school to formally offer Wayne for the class of '10.
"Coach Frank
Wilson and I talk a lot. I have spoken to Coach Kiffin, the defensive
coordinator, a few times too. I could have a chance to play for the best
defensive coordinator in the NFL in college football. It does not get much
better than that. They were also the first school to offer and get in
contact with me. When it does come decision time, I will keep that in
mind."
Has Minnesota been back in contact?
"I have not heard
from them since prep school. I was going to sign with them out of Milford,
and I was real upset about not being able to go to school up there.
Everything happens for a reason, so I am not worried about it
anymore."
What about Virginia Tech?
"The guy who was
recruiting me out of high school is now at Georgia. If I could have played
anywhere out of high school, it would have been at Virginia Tech. That was
kind of like my dream school growing up."
Have the Georgia Bulldogs
been in contact?
"I have not heard anything from them personally,
but they are talking to my coaches. They were going to take me as a
mid-year guy if the NCAA would have cleared me. Same as Auburn, but I
never got to talk to their coaches like I did with Ole Miss' and
Tennessee's. Their coaches were coming by the school. Georgia and Auburn's
coaches were just staying in contact through my coaches. They still are."
Wayne reports that he is on track to graduate in
December.
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