Pitt RB McCoy reminds Dorsett of former self
PITTSBURGH — The curse of having a running back as good as Tony Dorsett is that no player who followed him at Pitt has been worthy of comparison to the Heisman Trophy winner and former NCAA career rushing record-holder.
Even Dorsett thought so.
Until now.
Dorsett has watched every Pitt team from afar since he led the Panthers to an undefeated season and the 1976 national championship. Pitt sophomore LeSean McCoy is the first running back since then to cause Dorsett to say, "Hey, that looks like me."
The two running backs from different eras saw each other — they didn't meet, but each spent considerable time watching the other — when McCoy ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns against Navy last season.
McCoy admittedly was motivated by having Dorsett on the Pitt sidelines, and Dorsett — back at the school for a ceremony — found himself rooting for a player whose spin moves and cutback runs reminded him of himself.
"I said to myself, `That looked a lot like No. 33 (Dorsett),"' the former Pitt and Dallas Cowboys star said. "He reminded me of me."
Didn't take Dorsett long to realize it, either, because, he said, "Greatness is greatness."
McCoy, who could enter the NFL draft as early as next spring, probably won't stay at Pitt for the four seasons needed to make a run at Dorsett's many school records. But McCoy's 1,328-yard, 14-touchdown runs season in 2007 was the best for a Pitt freshman since Dorsett ran for 1,686 yards and 13 touchdowns in 1973.
McCoy's 110.67 yards-per-game average led all NCAA Division I freshmen and made him first-team all-Big East. McCoy's single-season yardage was the sixth-best in Pitt history, and Dorsett owns three of the other five marks.
Pitt brought Dorsett and McCoy together this year for a photo session and a ceremony in which Dorsett presented McCoy with a commemorative football listing his various freshman-season accomplishments.
The two running backs from Pennsylvania also sat down for a private meeting at which Dorsett reminded McCoy that doing the little things — practicing hard, studying tape, keeping in top shape — add up to a big career.
"When you hear it from a guy like Mr. Dorsett, it touches you," McCoy said.
The link between the two is Dave Wannstedt, the Pitt left tackle during Dorsett's freshman season and now the Panthers' coach.
Wannstedt understands one season like McCoy's doesn't make a career, but he sees in his now-sophomore star some of the qualities that made Dorsett one of the greatest college football player of his era.
"There will be only one Tony Dorsett, and that's why it's such an honor that Tony took the time to personally pay tribute to LeSean's accomplishments," Wannstedt said.
Dorsett ran for a then-NCAA record 6,082 yards in four seasons,then 12,739 yards in the NFL.
