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Dorsey Continues Line Of Family Excellence
By HAROLD WILSON
Staff Writer
Going back to grade school, John Tyler's Ashton Dorsey dreamed of following in line behind his older brothers and previous Lions.
After dominating the defensive line his junior season, Dorsey's dream seems to be coming true.
Sportswriters from the Tyler Morning Telegraph and Longview News-Journal voted Dorsey Preseason Defensive Player of the Year on the second All-East Texas Football Dream Team.
The 6-2½, 290-pound senior, already committed to play college football for the Texas Longhorns, begins the season set to carry on not just the Dorsey name, but continue a line of standouts on the JT defensive front, and an East Texas tradition enriched last year by Lufkin's Jamarkus McFarland.
While dealing with constant double-teams, Dorsey amassed 63 tackles, including 20 for a loss, during his junior season. He contributed 10 pass deflections, eight quarterback hurries, three sacks, two blocked kicks, and also forced a fumble and recovered another to earn all-district, all-area and all-state recognition.
A few plays stand above the rest during Dorsey's junior campaign. The first: a clutch blocked kick at the end of regulation to force overtime in JT's eventual 27-20 win over Lewisville. The last came in a one-point area-round loss to Richardson Lake Highlands when Dorsey knocked down three people on one play. Upon the snap, he leveled the center, forcing him to knock down the fullback and running back in the process.
"My goal is to wreak havoc, mess everything up," Dorsey said. "I want the d-line to control the whole game."
But Dorsey refuses to believe the hype, despite being one of the state's top 100 recruits, among the ESPNU 150 Watch List nationally, and even a top 50 college prospect according to recruiting expert Max Emfinger, a former pro scout.
"(The expectations) don't weight me down," said Dorsey, who according to most recruiting sites, ranks as the top prospect in East Texas. "It's just hype. I don't think I'm the best."
What matters is getting the adulation from an accomplished bloodline, where three previous Division I athletes grew up, not counting father Floyd Dorsey Sr., who holds the modern-era JT single-season record for rushing yards per game (146.5).
"It means a lot when he tells me I'm the best," Dorsey said of his father, who rushed for more than 1,600 yards for the 1978 JT team which went 10-0-1, and later played college ball at Lamar.
"My dad was (one of) the best to come through JT. I think if I get it from him, what can someone else say to knock that?"
At John Tyler alone, Dorsey follows a select group of defensive linemen, among them former Texas players of the year Marc Broyles and David Warren, and one-time pros such as Keith Guthrie and Andrew Melontree.
Dorsey's older brothers both gained Division I scholarships, with Floyd Dorsey Jr. playing four seasons and earning all-conference honors at Tulane, and Adren Dorsey recently completing a redshirt freshman season at Texas A&M. Even his sister Ashley threw for the UT-Arlington track team.
"He comes from a great line of athletes in his family," JT head coach Dereck Rush said of Dorsey, whom Rivals.com lists as the nation's No. 8 defensive tackle and No. 132 recruit overall. "He has the ability to play on the football field and has a good understanding of the game."
Dorsey admittedly gauged himself against the Oklahoma-bound McFarland, a high school All-American whom Emfinger ranked the nation's No. 2 overall recruit.
On paper, Dorsey outdid McFarland, finishing with more tackles and twice as many stops behind the line of scrimmage.
"My Daddy said they told him Earl Campbell was the best, but he wanted to be known as the best," the youngest Dorsey said. "Jamarkus -- they said he was the best. I thought I could show them I'm better. But I want people to know I'm not cocky, big-headed and don't brag ...what you see is what you get."
The place he dreams of reaching next: deeper in the playoffs after helping the Lions improve by five wins last year while coming a point away from making the regional round. JT returns a dozen starters, with four players already committed to Division I schools and another handful expected to do the same.
"Last year we were set to do better," said Dorsey, who bench-presses 330 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds. "But now we're seniors. We want to come together and show people we're back."
By HAROLD WILSON
Staff Writer
Going back to grade school, John Tyler's Ashton Dorsey dreamed of following in line behind his older brothers and previous Lions.
After dominating the defensive line his junior season, Dorsey's dream seems to be coming true.
Sportswriters from the Tyler Morning Telegraph and Longview News-Journal voted Dorsey Preseason Defensive Player of the Year on the second All-East Texas Football Dream Team.
The 6-2½, 290-pound senior, already committed to play college football for the Texas Longhorns, begins the season set to carry on not just the Dorsey name, but continue a line of standouts on the JT defensive front, and an East Texas tradition enriched last year by Lufkin's Jamarkus McFarland.
While dealing with constant double-teams, Dorsey amassed 63 tackles, including 20 for a loss, during his junior season. He contributed 10 pass deflections, eight quarterback hurries, three sacks, two blocked kicks, and also forced a fumble and recovered another to earn all-district, all-area and all-state recognition.
A few plays stand above the rest during Dorsey's junior campaign. The first: a clutch blocked kick at the end of regulation to force overtime in JT's eventual 27-20 win over Lewisville. The last came in a one-point area-round loss to Richardson Lake Highlands when Dorsey knocked down three people on one play. Upon the snap, he leveled the center, forcing him to knock down the fullback and running back in the process.
"My goal is to wreak havoc, mess everything up," Dorsey said. "I want the d-line to control the whole game."
But Dorsey refuses to believe the hype, despite being one of the state's top 100 recruits, among the ESPNU 150 Watch List nationally, and even a top 50 college prospect according to recruiting expert Max Emfinger, a former pro scout.
"(The expectations) don't weight me down," said Dorsey, who according to most recruiting sites, ranks as the top prospect in East Texas. "It's just hype. I don't think I'm the best."
What matters is getting the adulation from an accomplished bloodline, where three previous Division I athletes grew up, not counting father Floyd Dorsey Sr., who holds the modern-era JT single-season record for rushing yards per game (146.5).
"It means a lot when he tells me I'm the best," Dorsey said of his father, who rushed for more than 1,600 yards for the 1978 JT team which went 10-0-1, and later played college ball at Lamar.
"My dad was (one of) the best to come through JT. I think if I get it from him, what can someone else say to knock that?"
At John Tyler alone, Dorsey follows a select group of defensive linemen, among them former Texas players of the year Marc Broyles and David Warren, and one-time pros such as Keith Guthrie and Andrew Melontree.
Dorsey's older brothers both gained Division I scholarships, with Floyd Dorsey Jr. playing four seasons and earning all-conference honors at Tulane, and Adren Dorsey recently completing a redshirt freshman season at Texas A&M. Even his sister Ashley threw for the UT-Arlington track team.
"He comes from a great line of athletes in his family," JT head coach Dereck Rush said of Dorsey, whom Rivals.com lists as the nation's No. 8 defensive tackle and No. 132 recruit overall. "He has the ability to play on the football field and has a good understanding of the game."
Dorsey admittedly gauged himself against the Oklahoma-bound McFarland, a high school All-American whom Emfinger ranked the nation's No. 2 overall recruit.
On paper, Dorsey outdid McFarland, finishing with more tackles and twice as many stops behind the line of scrimmage.
"My Daddy said they told him Earl Campbell was the best, but he wanted to be known as the best," the youngest Dorsey said. "Jamarkus -- they said he was the best. I thought I could show them I'm better. But I want people to know I'm not cocky, big-headed and don't brag ...what you see is what you get."
The place he dreams of reaching next: deeper in the playoffs after helping the Lions improve by five wins last year while coming a point away from making the regional round. JT returns a dozen starters, with four players already committed to Division I schools and another handful expected to do the same.
"Last year we were set to do better," said Dorsey, who bench-presses 330 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds. "But now we're seniors. We want to come together and show people we're back."
