For Hire: Receiver With Big Speed and Big Heart

Phillip Dorsett
Wide Reciever
University of Miami

To my future NFL team,

My name is Phillip Dorsett and I am a playmaker. I am interested in joining your team.

They say you can’t teach speed, and fortunately, that is something I have never needed to be taught. I ran a 4.33 40 at the combine, and then a 4.25 at my pro day. I’m fast — and not just “football fast.” I’m “track fast.” I’ve run track since I was 6. I’m a sprinter; I’ve always been a sprinter. The 100, the 200 — I have that fast-twitch speed that only someone with sprinting in his background can have. The truth is, I ran track growing up so that I could become better at football. Now, when I get to the line of scrimmage, I bring with me the best of both worlds. Does track transfer over to the football field? Ask the cornerback trying to get his hands on me.

I’m not just speed, though. I’m a route runner. That is what a lot of people underestimate about me — they assume that since I’m a fast guy that I can’t run routes, but I take pride in my ability to have not only speed but also the ability to harness it. My high school coach was Hall of Famer Cris Carter. He taught me everything I know about playing the position, and most importantly, how to control my speed in my routes.

There are other traits that separate me from your standard speed demon. The first is that I have a strong upper body. I am not one of those guys who needs to beat the defense by two steps to make a catch. I have the strength to fight for the ball. The second is that I have been a number one receiver since my sophomore year. I know what it takes to be a number one, to be more than a specialist. To be number one takes leadership and the desire to step up, but it also takes a full skill set. I have all of those things.

Another thing you will notice, watching my tape, is that I have great hands. This is something I have worked hard on. I had some drops during my sophomore year and wasn’t satisfied, so after that, I went in and worked every day — doing tennis ball drills, improving my hand-eye coordination — until I saw the results I was looking for. I now see my hands as one of my strengths.

Physically, I have what it takes to succeed in the NFL. I’ve heard questions about my size and I shrug them off. Like I tell everybody, when it comes to playing football, it’s all about heart. I look at smaller receivers having success in the league — Antonio Brown, T.Y. Hilton, DeSean Jackson — and in their paths to stardom I see my own. When their teams need a play, they look to those players. And when they look to them, they don’t say, You’re not tall enough. They say, You have to make a play. And that’s me. I’m willing to put in work and lay my body on the line because I am a playmaker.

I consider myself to be a great teammate. Growing up, my dad had 10 brothers and sisters. We have a big family and we’re all very close. Applying this bond to football has been invaluable. In everything you do, you represent your family. I try to represent mine with the utmost respect. I have never been in trouble or done anything that would disgrace my family — and that isn’t going to change. I will bring that same sense of respect to your organization.

Another element from my life outside of football that I bring to the locker room is my college major: sociology. Majoring in sociology, I learned a lot about human interaction in its various forms. I believe this knowledge has helped me to become a better leader and a better teammate, on and off the field.

Finally, I am someone who knows, and truly grasps, the value of an NFL career. Because I know how quickly it can all slip away. When I tore my MCL my sophomore year, I thought it was the worst thing that ever happened to me. Looking back now, I see it for what it was: a wake-up call. I took it seriously, I rehabbed it and I came back better than I was before. I learned that you never know when football could be over, so now I play every down like it could my last.

If you draft me, that’s what you will get. A family member. A leader. Someone with rare speed, and rare heart. A player who makes plays.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully,

Phillip Dorsett