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Dorsey Levens

Hebert Dorsey Levens (born May 21 1970 in Syracuse, New York) is a former American football running back in the NFL.

College career

Levens began at Notre Dame; only to find himself competing with Ricky Watters, Jerome Bettis, Rodney Culver, Reggie Brooks, and Anthony Johnson, all of whom would play in the NFL. Levens eventually earned the starting tailback job at Notre Dame, but injured his knee before the season started.

The next year he transferred to Georgia Tech, where - after sitting out a year - he made people notice his combination of size and speed. His 7.2 yards-per-carry average set the school record at Georgia Tech. In his senior season, Levens was voted first-team All-ACC. He rushed for 823 yards and scored 8 TDs that season. Due partially to his injury, Levens was considered to be a marginal pick in the 1994 NFL draft, and Mel Kiper Jr. labelled him the most overrated pick on the board. He was finally picked in the fifth round by the Green Bay Packers.

Professional career

1994-2001

After playing in various backup roles, he played well in the 1996 postseason, and became the starting halfback after Edgar Bennett tore his achilles tendon in the 1997 pre-season. Levens emerged as one of the best running backs in football in 1997, rushing for over 1400 yards and getting voted to the Pro Bowl. However, he injured his knee again during the 1998 season and was never the same. He gained 1,000 yards for the Packers in the 1999 season, but was mostly used in a reserve role after that.

Levens was featured on the cover of EA Sports flagship NFL series Madden NFL 2000 in the PAL editions. He's therefore viewed as one of the first victims of the "Madden Curse".

Levens was released in 2001.

2002-2005

During the 2002 season, he played with the Philadelphia Eagles, replacing an injured Correll Buckhalter, and in 2003, with the New York Giants, both times as a backup. He was released by the Giants after the 2003 season. After Buckhalter was again injured during the 2004 preseason, Levens was signed by the Eagles as a free agent. He shared duties with Brian Westbrook through the season, and retired during the 2006 offseason as a Green Bay Packer.

Retirement

Dorsey is an NFL analyst for www.playerpress.com, where he picks NFL games against the spread--and other professional athletes and experts. His picks, as well as his personal blog, run at www.dorseylevensreport.com.