What most people who knew Eric Dorsey before he went on to stardom with Notre Dame and the New York Football Giants would remember is his quiet demeanor, which was in sharp contrast to his fear-injecting football ability.
"He just physically dominated people in high school," said former McLean soccer and wrestling coach Ted Pease. "He was so much bigger, stronger and faster."
But what the quiet Dorsey — approximately 6-foot-4 and 240-pounds in high school — did was make the most noise any McLean High School football product has ever made.
"As far as recruits coming out of McLean at that time, there wasn't any," said former McLean football coach Karl Buckwalter, who was Dorsey's teammate on the 1980-1981 McLean team that finished with a 10-1 record and district title. "McLean traditionally was not very successful. He being, with his size and stature and the ability that you could foresee that was coming, the recruiters came."
Dorsey "was a man-child," Buckwalter added. Dorsey was also a bit of a man around the house. His father was a policeman who was killed in the line of duty while Eric was still a young child. Dorsey entered McLean with a lack of motivation. Falling in love with football changed Dorsey both mentally and physically.
"The most notable thing about Eric is that he lived in the weight room," said Pease, who said former head football coach Kurt Lindstrom told Dorsey that lifting weights was Dorsey's ticket to success. "Eric believed that. He was there for hours every day. He wasn't your typical squat, bench-press guy. He was always working on a lot of different things."
DORSEY WENT from a 180-pound sophomore to the 240-pound beast that terrorized the district. He helped the Highlanders resurge from a 1-9 finish in 1979 to a 10-0 finish in the 1980 season. In Dorsey's senior year, he played nearly every position possible. He was at defensive tackle, nose-guard, linebacker and even got a few carries a game as an imposing tailback. McLean finished 5-4-1 that season. In all Dorsey, who was a team captain in his senior year, was an all-district, all-region and all-state pick as a senior at McLean. He recorded 24 solo tackles, 92 assists, 46 hits and caused 11 fumbles in 1981.
"He wasn't accustomed to standing up playing tailback," said Buckwalter. "It was just one of those things when you needed a yard or two you stick a 6-4, 270-pound [guy in there]."
Dorsey carried 15 times for 63 yards and two touchdowns in his time at tailback.
Dorsey's unnatural speed, which included a 4.7-second 40-yard dash time, made him an even bigger recruit.
"He was a very coachable young man," said Pease. "And a very nice young man, so we never thought he was going to make it."
Dorsey was almost too nice and too quiet. So much that he was not willing to wrestle for Pease in his first two years at McLean. Pease would tease the big man and embarrass him in the hallways of the school by putting him in wrestling moves that even Dorsey's size and strength could not overcome. Dorsey eventually went out for the wrestling team and finished second in the region and third in the state in his senior year. He compiled a 30-3 overall record which included 25 pins. He was also the captain of the wrestling team and track team. He set records in the discus (176-6-1/2) and shot put (57-05). Pease remembered his power.
"He was never too serious [about wrestling], but serious when he went out on the mat," said Pease, who steered clear of the big man in the wrestling room, and for good reason.
"I wrestled with him his junior year and then I stayed away from him senior year," said Pease, who frustrated the big man. "I had to stay on the opposite side of the room from him." Pease saw what happened to an assistant coach when Dorsey got frustrated. Assistant coach Bob Valentine made the mistake of tossing Dorsey onto his back.
"Eric didn't know what to do, so he bear-hugged him and broke three of his ribs," said Pease.
THAT KIND OF strength led Dorsey to become a standout at Notre Dame. Where he played from 1982 to 1985. "It was big news," said Buckwalter of Dorsey's scholarship. "No McLean person had come out of there as far as football."
At Notre Dame, Dorsey grew to 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds. He played in 38 games with the Irish including 21 starts. He won the Hering Award as the team's most improved player after the 1985 spring practice session. He was an honorable mention All-American pick by the Associated Press after his senior year. Keeping with his ability to play several positions in high school, Dorsey started the first four games of his senior year at nose tackle then switched positions for the final seven games of his college career. He finished his career with 43 solo tackles (131 total) after finishing his senior year with career highs in all categories including total tackles (87). Dorsey was drafted 19th overall in the 1986 NFL draft and played defensive end for the Giants for seven years. He played in 16 games in his rookie year and was part of the Giants 1986 Super Bowl championship team (Super Bowl XXI). He also played in 16 games during the Giants second Super Bowl championship season in 1990 (Super Bowl XXV). It is believed that Dorsey currently lives in Teaneck, NJ. He did not return calls in time for this edition.