LSU's Dorsey doesn't get mad -- he gets even better

NEW ORLEANS -- If you listen real close, you can detect just a hint of bitterness in Glenn Dorsey's voice.

"I let it go," LSU's All-American defensive tackle said. "I'm fine now, you know? I have no hard feelings."

Glenn Dorsey shook off the injury he suffered in the Auburn game and continued to lead the LSU defense. (Getty Images)

Well, how long does it take for one to get over what amounts to a mob hit? In the streets they call it knee-capping. On Oct. 20 in Tiger Stadium, they called it a cut block. A bad one.

On that night, Auburn guard Chaz Ramsey dived at Dorsey's knees while tackle Lee Ziemba had Dorsey engaged up high. It looked intentional. Auburn apologized and swears it wasn't. Only Nancy Kerrigan and enemies of crime families knew how Dorsey truly felt.

"I was surprised there was no penalty, to be honest," said Ohio State offensive tackle Kirk Barton, who will be dealing with Dorsey in Monday night's national championship game. "If I was a defensive coordinator, I would have been at midfield. It was an obvious high-low. ... I was actually watching what happened. I thought he tore everything. It was pretty vicious."

Amazingly, Dorsey suffered nothing more than a bad sprain. There were the usual recriminations after the game from coach Les Miles. None, though, came from Dorsey himself. While his coaches, fans, teammates and, yes, family members were howling, Dorsey let it go.

But after how long?

"I kept it all in," he said. "I don't really like to comment on stuff like that. I just kept on ticking. I told myself everything was going to be all right."

I kept it all in. Dorsey had to be pissed for sure. He had come back for his senior year despite a high draft rating as a junior. Now here were a couple of careless opponents/thugs (you pick) trying to take him down.

It was the kind of thing that sometimes happens when you try to push that NFL paycheck back one more year. Following a mysterious shin injury suffered while lifting weights, Dorsey went against just about everyone's advice and returned.

This was less of a Matt Leinart/Peyton Manning move. Both quarterbacks loved their athletic lives so much that they decided against all logic to return as seniors. To Dorsey, something wasn't right. If he didn't feel 100 percent, then his chances of making it big weren't 100 percent.

"I was confident I could do the same thing I did last year, if not better," Dorsey said. "I wasn't 100 percent. I didn't want to go into that (draft) not being in a position of power. I think I made the right decision. Everybody was saying I did the wrong thing."

What you don't want to do is get Glenn Dorsey riled. His play probably secured his second consecutive All-American season before the Auburn game. But the cut block would be the beginning of an injury-filled end of the season for Dorsey. The 300-pounder never was completely right for the final four games. When asked if he ever felt like sitting out, Dorsey snapped, "Never."