CBS SportsLine.com's Preseason All-America Team
There are rarer occurrences than finding a defensive tackle who requires -- and beats -- constant double teams.
Eclipses. Meteor strikes. Lindsay Lohan in a state of lucidity.
That's why Les Miles doesn't mince words when it comes to his SportsLine.com preseason All-American defender.
Even when he's blocked, it's hard to shake Glenn Dorsey. (US Presswire)
"Glenn Dorsey is the best defensive tackle in America," the LSU coach said.
Let's take that to another level. Dorsey might be the best player in America considering he's been there, done that as a 2006 SportsLine.com All-American. And if, as expected, LSU wins its third SEC title in seven years and challenges for the national championship.
There aren't many who have seen, faced or evaluated Dorsey who can argue otherwise. That says a lot just within the Baton Rouge city limits. Dorsey is the fifth defensive line All-American at LSU since 2003.
He is one four first-teamers from the SEC on SportsLine.com's annual preseason team. The Pac-10 and Big East led the list, each landing six players on the 26-member team. USC and Louisville each had the most individuals with three on the first team.
Filling any line with serviceable defensive tackles is among the most difficult tasks in college football. It's hard for recruiters to project not only the body on a high schooler but his level of mean. Dorsey has both.
In what might be the signature game of his career, Dorsey battered Auburn for eight tackles, including two sacks last season. The only thing lacking was a scoop and a score on a fumble in Auburn's 7-3 win. It was a brutal LSU loss but all anyone could talk about after the game was Dorsey's monster effort.
"We did everything possible to block him with one, two offensive linemen, a tight end at times, a running back," Auburn's Tommy Tuberville said. "Kind of reminds me a lot of Warren Sapp."
And that was with an annoying season-long shin injury that convinced Dorsey to stick around for his senior season. If not for that, he would have been a record fifth Tiger drafted in the first round in April. So enjoy yourselves, SEC offensive linemen, essentially playing against an NFL blue chipper. A legitimate frontrunner for the Outland (top interior lineman), Nagurski and Lombardi (top lineman) trophies will be in your grill on every play.
Remember him in your prayers too, when Dorsey isn't making tackles. That's because sometimes those double teams work. Sometimes. You have to understand what 64 tackles (8 1/2 for loss) means for a defensive tackle. Linebackers and defensive backs typically make the vast majority of stops for most defenses. No tackle was among the NCAA's top 100 tacklers last season.
