Dotson puts fallen Williams in his heart, on his back
Published: 9/26/2007 9:44 PM
Last Modified: 9/26/2007 9:44 PM
If you read Dave Sittler's column Wednesday, you know how hard John Williams' season-ending injury hit the Oklahoma Sooners. Nobody took it harder than Alonzo Dotson, a fellow fifth-year senior defensive end.
"We came in together. I knew him before college," Dotson said this week. "To see him go down with an ACL (in 2005), and then last year (when Williams suffered, according to his old high school coach, a lacerated bladder) and then this year... He was really doing good. It hurt so bad...
"To see him work so hard over the summer. Not only to work out, and you know how hard we work out around here, but to be healthy, to battled through that...
"My heart just sank. It really did. I was torn up."
Dotson checked with Williams after the game.
"I think I'm done," Williams told him.
So Dotson checked with head trainer Scott Anderson, who confirmed the torn Achilles tendon.
Then Dotson was done, emotionally.
"John was holding it together more than I was," he said. "It's tough, man. We're from Houston. Our families know each other real well. I talk to his mom all the time."
So is it tough carrying on without his friend and teammate?
"No, it's not," Dotson said. "Because I know if I was in his position, I would want him to keep going. It sucks if I think about it. But my uncle (former NFL defensive tackle Santana Dotson) tells me all the time that this is a game where injuries play a big part.
"It's one of those things where I'm pushing through for (Williams). I'll put him on my back and we'll ride out together."
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
