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Monday, August 5
 
Only thing left for Dorsey to do is 'Win another one'

By David Duffey
ESPN.com

"What more can Ken Dorsey do?" rhetorically asked Miami coach Larry Coker at the Big East Media Day at Giants Stadium.

Good question. All Dorsey did last year was throw for 2,652 yards and 23 touchdowns, lead Miami to 42.7 points per game and win the Maxwell Award. Oh yeah, Dorsey also led the Hurricanes to an undefeated national championship season, capped by a co-MVP performance in Miami's 37-14 win over Nebraska in the Rose Bowl.

Ken Dorsey
Ken Dorsey now owns the UM record for wins for a QB with 27.
He's hardly a one-year wonder either. Dorsey's 26-1 record as starting quarterback at Miami gives him the best winning percentage in school history, and with one more win he will become the Hurricanes all-time winningest quarterback. Dorsey already owns Miami's record for career touchdown passes with 58 and ranks second in passing yards with 6,196. Not bad at a school known for producing quarterbacks -- remember Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, Vinnie Testaverde, Gino Torretta and Steve Walsh?

So, what more can Ken Dorsey do?

"Win another one," Dorsey said.

Miami had 11 players taken in the NFL draft, including three underclassman, but the decision to return for his senior season was an easy one for Dorsey. "It was very important to me to come back for another year," he said. "The fact that my parents would have killed me if I left helps."

Dorsey's return will be a key ingredient in the Hurricanes' attempt to be the first repeat national champion since Nebraska did it in 1994-95. Aware that his team will have a big target on it this year, he is working on specific parts of his own game to improve Miami's chance. "I think last year was not my best season. My completion percentage (58.4) wasn't where I needed it to be and I threw too many interceptions (10). I can definitely improve on that," he said

"The big focus for me is also trying to get one or two more completions a quarter. If I do that, it puts me at 60 percent passing which would give the team, I think, a much better opportunity to win. Any edge we can have this year is going to help because we are the defending national champions and we are Miami. With those two factors, teams are going to love to give us their best games."

According to Coker, Dorsey's work is already paying dividends.

"Going through spring practice, I've never seen Ken better," Coker said. "You just see what he's done and you say 'Gosh, this kid can't get any better than this.' But he has."

It's the intangibles that further set him apart. Dorsey has embraced the leadership role and has taken charge of the summer program. "Trying to get everybody together for seven-on-sevens, making sure everybody is out there is one of the biggest things because that is where we are going to grow." he said. " The season is really won and lost in the summer."

What about that other award out there to win, the Heisman? "It would be nice to say it was on my list of goals to win, but it's not even there. If I have the opportunity to be, believe me I won't turn it down." Dorsey said. "I'd love to come back to New York to participate in that again, but I know for a fact that if the team doesn't have success than none of that stuff will come for me or anybody else."

It's all about the wins and losses for Dorsey. A loss -- in anything -- makes him work that much harder.

"Ken's a tremendous competitor," Coker said. "We were honored at the ESPYs as team of the year, and Ken represented us there. The Lakers won and Ken hates to lose at anything. 'This makes me want to go back to practice again,' he said -- that says it all."

David Duffey is college sports editor at ESPN.com. He can be reached at david.duffey@espnpub.com.






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