Big Plays Come Naturally to 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.
Each week in the 2014 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 on Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native Phillip Dorsett.
Big plays have become synonymous with Phillip Dorsett.
In four years at Miami, Dorsett has been a threat to score every time he touches the ball and the senior has found the end zone 11 times in his career.
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native has receptions of at least 60 yards in three straight years and his career-long catch of 68 yards came a year ago against North Carolina.
But Dorsett has been making a significant impact since his days as a star for high school powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas.
Dorsett joins a long line of Raiders who have gone on to shine as Hurricanes. Known as a football factory, Aquinas has produced numerous NFL and college players including former Cane linebacker Tavares Gooden and offensive lineman Brandon Linder, as well as current Canes Jelani Hamilton, Nick Linder and Anthony Moten.
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 1,500 yards and 11 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 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 and was having a big day against UNC before leaving the game with an injury.
Dorsett has routinely made big plays in 2014, recording the second multi-touchdown game of career when he hauled in two scores against Florida A&M. Dorsett’s biggest game to date came a week later when the senior torched Arkansas State for 201 yards and three touchdowns. His superb performance was just the third 200-yard receiving game in program history and garnered him ACC Receiver of the Week accolades.
The speedy receiver, who has had big games against Georgia Tech in each of the past two seasons, will look to continue his success against the Yellow Jackets on Saturday as Miami faces the Ramblin’ Wreck at 7:30 p.m. in Atlanta.
