Injury concerns plague LSU's Dorsey

-Courtesy of NFLDraftScout.com, published by The Sports Xchange.

By Howard Balzer

Senior Writer
NFLDraftScout.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- An NFL team doctor told NFLDraftScout.com that
there are serious concerns over the lingering effects of a
2006 stress fracture in the right tibia of Louisiana State's
highly-rated defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey.

Dorsey, generally considered a top five prospect in the NFL Draft,
underwent a physical Saturday at the Scouting Combine, and was
subsequently sent to the hospital for additional tests.

"I haven't spoken to anybody about how the tests came out,"
Dorsey said  Sunday at a Combine press conference. He
admitted that he was put through a grueling battery of tests.

"I got to the hospital around nine o'clock and left around
6:30," he said. "I had MRI's, I had CAT scans, I had
everything. I mean there were stingers from high school
they wanted to check out."

However, Dorsey contends he is ready to play in the NFL
and has no concerns about his past injuries, although
he does understand why teams are curious.

"When you are one of the top players people are looking
for the negatives," he said. "They are looking for
anything. But I played four years. I played every game
since I've been with LSU. Who doesn't get hurt during
the year?"

Dorsey was measured at 6-1 1/4, 297 pounds, and elected
not to work out, explaining he stopped preparing for the
Combine because of the death of his grandmother.

However, there are still issues with the tibia that has raised
red flags among NFL teams. The team doctor told NFLDraftScout.com
the stress fracture is in an area of the tibia that is
difficult to heal.

Dorsey played most of the 2006 season at LSU with the injury,
and took painkillers before every game. He wore a bone
stimulator for up to 18 hours per day until he was cleared
to practice in the spring of 2007.

"I wore the stimulator through the spring and summer and
I think it did some good," Dorsey told NFLDraftscout.com.

Although Dorsey has been the target of some infamous chop
and double-team blocks, he explained the injury to his
leg happened in the weight room. "I bumped up against a
 weight or something ... and it calcified."

Before that, Dorsey considered entering the 2007 NFL Draft,
but told ESPN college football reporter Joe Schad, "I have
a few injuries that I believe would have hindered me in
the draft. I have a leg injury that I really want to get
healed up, so I'm coming back so we have a chance to win
the SEC and maybe even a national championship."

LSU did win the national championship, while Dorsey played
the season with several injuries. He was limited in
preseason drills because of a sore hamstring, then
suffered a sprained right knee against Auburn on Oct. 20,
and missed most of the second half of that game.

He played the following game against Alabama wearing
a large brace on his knee, and briefly left the game when
he re-injured the knee. Dorsey missed most of the
Tigers' Nov. 17 game against Mississippi because of a
sore lower back.

The combination of injuries limited his participation
in practice for the final six games of the season.

Dorsey had four of his seven sacks prior to the Auburn game,
and one of his final three was against Louisiana Tech.