South Florida Speed: Phillip Dorsett
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes have a long tradition of homegrown talent showcasing itself on the football field.
Canes legends like Michael Irvin, Sean Taylor, Jonathan Vilma, Santana Moss and Bennie Blades are just a handful of South Florida natives who shined while donning Miami’s orange and green.
Over the course of the 2013 football season, HurricaneSports.com will honor a Hurricane football player with South Florida ties as the Milam’s Market Homegrown Athlete of the Week. This week’s player spotlight is Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native Phillip Dorsett.
If you blink, you might miss him.
That is how fast Phillip Dorsett is on a football field.
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native was an impact player well before he donned Miami’s orange and green. A star for high school powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas, Dorsett joins a long line of Raiders who have gone on to shine as Hurricanes.
Aquinas is known as a football factory, producing numerous NFL and college players including former Cane linebacker Tavares Gooden and current Miami players Brandon Linder and Jelani Hamilton.
Dorsett is also a member of an elite group of former Raider wide receivers who became standouts at Miami, joining 2012 first team All-ACC selection Leonard Hankerson and 1987 National Champion, three-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael “The Playmaker” Irvin.
Much like Hankerson and Irvin before him, Dorsett is a key weapon in Miami’s potent offense. The 5-foot-10 receiver with elite speed has tallied over 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns in his Hurricanes career.
Dorsett earned playing time as a freshman, playing in all 12 games in the 2011 season. He caught the first touchdown of his career against Duke and earned his first start in that season’s victory over USF. The talented receiver also threw for a 16-yard touchdown on a trick play against then-No. 21 Virginia Tech.
While Dorsett flashed his ability as a freshman, the speedy receiver entrenched himself as a vital part of Miami’s offense as a sophomore. Dorsett played in all 12 games at receiver and punt returner, making 10 starts. He led the team with 842 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 58 catches, earning third-team All-ACC honors by Phil Steele.
Dorsett played a key role in Miami’s win over Georgia Tech, catching nine balls for 184 yards and a touchdown and earning ACC Receiver of the Weeks honors.
A week later, Dorsett followed his big game against the Yellow Jackets with another huge performance, reeling in seven catches for 191 yards and 2 TDs in win vs. NC State, including a game-winning 62-yard TD with 19 seconds remaining.
Dorsett also tallied six catches for 103 yards and touchdown against Virginia and ties a single-game school record with 12 catches for 111 yards against USF.
The big play threat has continued his success as a junior, catching a 52-yard touchdown in the first quarter of Miami’s 21-16 win over No. 9/12 Florida. Dorsett also hauled in a 40-yard touchdown in the Canes’ 45-30 win over Georgia Tech.
Make sure to keep your eye on No. 4 and don’t blink because Dorsett will continue to use his game-changing speed to help the Canes throughout the remainder of their ACC schedule.
