Outland trophy
LSU’s Dorsey to be honored alongside OU, NFL great Selmon BOYS TOWN, Neb. (AP) – LSU tackle Glenn Dorsey, even with his newfound national title and hopes of being picked No. 1 in this year’s NFL draft, won’t be the most famous lineman accepting the Outland Trophy on Thursday night.
He’ll be alongside Pro Football Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers star considered who is accepting the same trophy more than 30 years after winning it at Oklahoma. Winners didn’t receive an actual trophy until the 1980s, so a past recipient is brought back each year to receive his own hardware.
“When you think of Outland, you think of guys from Nebraska and Oklahoma – big-time football players – guys with great character who basically come out and just beat the tar out of you,” Dorsey said Wednesday, two days after his Tigers beat Ohio State 38-24 in the BCS national championship game. “It’s a real honor to be mentioned in the same category as him.”
Selmon won national titles with the Sooners in 1974 and 1975 and won the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award in 1975. He was the top pick in the 1976 NFL draft, played for Tampa Bay until 1984 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.
“It’s humbling to be as old as I am to be invited back to get anything,” joked the 53-year-old Selmon as he patted the engraved Outland Trophy displayed beside him.
The pair appeared together in advance of a Thursday dinner where Dorsey will accept the same award, given to the nation’s top interior lineman. The Outland is one of a handful Dorsey earned in a season he played at less than full strength.
“He reminds me a lot of Warren (Sapp),” Selmon said of Dorsey. “For a guy his size to have the explosiveness and the speed and quickness is really rare – you don’t see that a lot in the National Football League or anywhere else. He’s a special talent.”
Despite battling knee and tailbone injuries as well as constant double-teams, the All-American had 39 solo tackles, 25 assists, 111/2 tackles for losses, six sacks, four pass breakups and four quarterback hurries in 13 games.
Along with the Outland, the senior won the Lombardi Award (outstanding lineman) and Bronko Nagurski Trophy (outstanding defensive player).
Dorsey chose to return to LSU for his senior season instead of opting for the NFL draft, passing on a huge payday as many expected him to be taken in the first round.
Dorsey said that although he went back and forth in weighing his decision, he would have regretted leaving early for the NFL.
“I made a decision and I stuck with it,” Dorsey said. “I enjoyed being in college, enjoy the whole college atmosphere.”
The 6-foot-2, 303-pound Dorsey said he didn’t prefer any particular team to draft him, but said he was a fan of the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys as a kid.
Dorsey and Selmon appeared at the famed Boys Town children’s home in west Omaha, famous for its work with abused, abandoned and neglected children. The home was immortalized by the 1938 movie “Boys Town,” which starred Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney.
Dorsey and Selmon talked to students and signed footballs, offering advice about sports and life.
Dorsey also offered his thoughts on new Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, who was his defensive coordinator at LSU.
“Just look forward to working hard,” said Dorsey, who called Pelini a “big-time” influence in his life. “You’re going to work hard but it’s going to pay off in the end.”
Copyright Associated Press 2008