Where Are They Now: QB Ken Dorsey

The evolution of Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton as an NFL quarterback has gained serious momentum as his performance on the field has reached an entirely new pinnacle during the 2013 football season.

Newton has improved in almost every statistical category and has increased his QB rating from 86.2 to 89.2 in just one year. Newton has thrown 22 TDs with only 12 interceptions and increased his completion percentage from 57% in 2012 to 62% in 2013.

His favorite target just happens to be former University of Miami TE Greg Olsen who leads the Panthers with 67 receptions (774 yards/5 TDs) this season.

Newton's sudden success may be attributed to a new quarterbacks coach in Carolina: Former UM QB Ken Dorsey. The information below about the former Hurricane signal caller is from the Panthers' web site:

Ken Dorsey draws on his experience as an NFL quarterback and record-setting passer at the University of Miami as Panthers quarterbacks coach, moving to the coaching staff from the scouting department.

Dorsey assumes the position in 2013 following two seasons as a pro scout for Carolina from 2011-12. In this role, he advanced the Panthers' upcoming opponents each week as well as evaluated free agents and prospects on other NFL rosters.

Prior to coming to Carolina, Dorsey served as an instructor at IMG Academy. He helped train NFL prospects before the 2011 NFL Draft, working with quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers.

Dorsey himself played six years in the NFL from 2003-08 after being selected in the seventh round by the San Francisco 49ers in 2003. He spent three seasons with the 49ers and then three with the Cleveland Browns, making 13 starts and completing 214-of-408 passes for 2,082 yards and eight touchdowns.

A standout at the University of Miami (Fla.) from 1999-2002, Dorsey is the winningest quarterback in school history with a 38-2 record as a starter and led the Hurricanes to the 2001 National Championship. He was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in May 2013.

The two-time Heisman Trophy finalist (2001, 2002) set numerous school records and still ranks as the all-time leader with 9,565 passing yards and 86 touchdown passes, while his 668 completions and 1,153 pass attempts stand second. As a junior in 2001, Dorsey won the Maxwell Award - presented to the college football player of the year - when he passed for 2,652 yards and 23 touchdowns on 184-of-318 attempts to compile a passer rating of 146.1.

There is little doubt that Dorsey has made an immediate impact on Newton's performance this season. In fact, Netwon recently praised Dorsey for his coaching and its impact on his excellent play in 2013.

Here's a thought: Maybe the University of Miami could use a QB coach like that?

Related articles

Mike Shula, Ken Dorsey thriving as Carolina Panthers assistants

As Cam Newton emerges as elite QB, he sounds more and more like Jake Delhomme

Talent + Preparation = Opportunity

Seven Hurricanes Added To UM Sports HOF

Comments

[WWIN]

1st

[WWIN]

Somebody reads canespace apparently!

[SOUP]

Appreciate your thoughts and YES, U are correct. I did forget to say "IN MY HUMBLE OPINION". I will always say IMHO from now on. Thanks for the tip!

Posted by: Go Canes | December 29, 2013 at 10:14 PM

Well said. Appreciate U!

[Habcane]

Devon Hester

[SOUP]

This is a "transition blog" between the 725 comments on the last and before the time I get to put my thoughts together tomorrow for the bowl game analysis and summary.

Enjoy talking about something else than:

"WE SUCK!"

[WWIN]

After I posted our 2-4 record after the ncaa cloud was lifted it was posted on twitter but I won't say by who... lol

7-0 with the ncaa cloud over our heads and 2-4 with a loss to Duke when the cloud left. Bring that cloud back!!!

[dj moonbat]

Man, I still remember being alarmed to discover we were going to lose Kenny Kelly to baseball -- and replace him with this skinny freshman kid. Fortunately, I wasn't worried long.

[j.w.]

smart, Soup. Blogging about Dorsey is just what we needed to read right now. Merci.

[BEERicane]

Dude knew how to win.

[herbieibis]

Nothing like yesteryear. Where has our evaluations gone! The very moment McGhee got hurt, this program has never been the same.

[SOUP]

Smart, Soup. Blogging about Dorsey is just what we needed to read right now. Merci.

Posted by: j.w. | December 29, 2013 at 11:49 PM

That is why I am the CEO!

[raizecane]

damn I'm slow…...

[SOUP]

and replace him with this skinny freshman kid. Fortunately, I wasn't worried long.

Posted by: dj moonbat | December 29, 2013 at 11:49 PM

This question is courtesy of OGV:

"How many of our National Championships have been won by Freshman QBs?"

[SOUP]

damn I'm slow…...

Posted by: raizecane | December 29, 2013 at 11:56 PM

That's what...no, I can't do it.

That's just the Captain Morgan talking?

[raizecane]

That's just the Captain Morgan talking?

Posted by: SOUP | December 29, 2013 at 11:58 PM

***********************************************************

No Captn on Saturday or Today…..had enough adult beverages Friday night.

[Sarasota 'cane]

"We suck again"!

[orange 'n green in the vein]

"Posted by: SOUP | December 29, 2013 at 11:57 PM"

Question actually was, how many UM football titles were won by FIRST YEAR FULL TIME STARTING QB'S?

But is was a rough night and our meeting at gate C pregame was the high point of the football portion of the evening, so I don't blame you for telephone gaming it up there SOUP. Good seeing you and your brother yesterday.

[Sarasota 'cane]

1, Steve Walsh.

[SJMPARMAN]

3 Kosar, Walsh and Erickson

[SOUP]

So I don't blame you for telephone gaming it up there SOUP. Good seeing you and your brother yesterday.

Posted by: orange 'n green in the vein | December 30, 2013 at 12:08 AM

Yes sir! I said what U said I said after the game, and I will admit it.

Not sure I am backing down off of that YET, but tomorrow will be "interesting" no way around that. Let's just say that everyone will NOT be happy.

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Oh and as to the topic of the blog post;

Always have had a sneaking suspicion in the back of my mind since he was going to UM when I was there that the subject of this blog could always be UM's version of UF hiring Spurrier one day.

[laquinton]

Per some reports.. Bruce feldman. Oregon is looking at Randy Shannon for its vacant defensive coordinator position.

[Hassan]

Sutrel.

Susan had her Valentines day invite sent back to her by Henderson who apparently has got the entire women's Volleyball team prego

[TonyCane]

It is highly unlikely that Al goes to Texas. Spoke about it on the radio before Christmas and while Golden is thought well of, he is unproven. Texas wants a proven coach. If Golden were hired, the radio host said it would mean that texas's job search was a near total failure. Golden is far down their list. Although he reminds me A LOT of a young Mack Brown. Similar communication styles with the media, good recruiters. Fan base complaining about their coordinators.

[Montreal-Cane]

I have said it many times since 2007...We need a very good QB coach at the U. Golden got the opportunity to hire dorsey before he took the Job with Carolina.

[herbieibis]

The whole thing seems messed up. We have no QB coach, unless Coley acts in a dual role. We have a TE coach coaching WR's and RB coach is a DB coach and hell I can't remember if we have TE coach, who was probably a grad asst. last year. Our defense should be called half a hundred because that seems to be the number we shoot for every game. We will probably be the only team, this bowl season that gets shut out on third down conversions. What we had a second a 29 and made a first down. We keep wanting to run these smurf running backs between the tackles on third and 2, when we have a 245 lb fullback. what ever happened to giving the ball to the big guy?

[Terrance Sullivan]

I have already flushed this season down the toilet and waiting on signing day to see what talent we bring in and waiting on the Canes Four Play in Coral Gables in Febuary with Soup, KYCane, and the rest of U CaneSpace peeps. Wishing each and every one of U a Happy 2014. Love Ya'll.

[CGNC]

Good morning! Nice write up on Kenny. Newton looks like an entirely different QB this season

[Canesteeler]

CGNC despite injuries the Pens are Pucking! I am in the show me mode in regards to Canes football. To date AG is an articulate version of Randy Shannon. I truly wonder if the program will ever return to the college elite. As long as we contine to be coached the way we are, the assholes such as Lou Holtz and Mark May will continue to dog the shit out of the the program. Canes nation look up the article Jason Whitlock wrote once AG has hired. I am at work however I will try to find the article and post it. From this day forward UM show me you deserve my entertainment $$$. The performances the past 5-6 lead me to believe Randy Shannon is still the man in charge in Coral Gables.

[Sinistercane]

Anybody who has inside info, Did our bowl performance affect recruiting especially with the defensive players?

[Go Canes]

No.

[raizecane]

So lets go back to the Bowl game against Notre Dame. If memory serves me well, the onion had already been fired and we got blown out. The Golden hire was announced and I recall Al being interviewed and he didn’t knock the coaching staff but it was clear he felt the team was not prepared and the players didn’t perform well. Fast forward to 2013 (the day after our bowl game)and what has changed?? Besides our defense being much worse, ABSOLUTLY NOTHING!!!

[roachcane77]

The whole thing seems messed up.
Posted by: herbieibis | December 30, 2013 at 12:43 AM

I agree herbieitis… Why don't we have "expert" assistants?

And whomever stated it earlier, (I'm sure more than one person), AG is a great administrator and recruiter, and spokesman for the program… but, if he CAN'T, (or won't), hire the right coaches to get our players ready, and in position to win, then we'll be mired at this level of a 2nd tier program fro the length of his tenure.

Come on AG! Do some honest evaluations, put aside your personal feelings, MAKE THE TOUGH DECISIONS, and BRING IN SOME TOP TIER COACHES!

Let's Go Canes!

[UMike]

Bethel wants assurances of new scheme

Not every Canes recruit was feeling as good about the state of the program. Miami Booker T. Washington cornerback Nigel Bethel said he wasn’t considering taking any other recruiting visits until seeing Miami struggle badly against Louisville.

“I’m committed to Miami, but I’m opening things back up,” said Bethel, who is hoping to schedule a visit to Georgia.

Bethel said he wants to be assured Miami’s defensive schemes will be different from what he saw Saturday to remain committed.

“I want to see man coverage, more blitzes,” he said. “I think the [defensive] line isn’t physical enough. [Fellow UM commit] Chad [Thomas] and those guys would change things I think. The [defensive] line we have committed would help.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/2...#storylink=cpy

[UMike]

From Ariz...

An underlying issue

This won't be a very popular post, but I wanted to expand on a post that caneaddict made on the football board and something that has been touched upon by other posters.

For whatever reason, this program has become resented and somewhat looked at as a laughing stock by a large number of people in the Miami community. Some people have made it almost a University of Miami vs. the Miami community thing. Of course, there will always be the same portion of people that will support this program no matter what, but I'm seeing recruits, coaches, "mentors", and the like really expressing their negative feelings towards the program and I'm not just talking about the Ermon Lanes and Dalvin Cooks of the world. Think about the way that a lot of people in Miami look at the Dolphins as a "joke".

It is the current staff's job to change this image that really began near the end of the Coker era and carried through the Shannon years. For a while (and I'm not talking about the first half of this season), it looked like Golden and staff had begun to recapture the "recruiting" community, but the end of this season seems to have sparked up the negative talk once again.

This is not about other programs giving South Florida prospects benefits or anything like that, it's about this staff gaining the respect of the coaches and players down here. Coley is the most well-respected coach on this staff and that's because he has made it his mission to reach out to the "mentors", youth coaches, etc. over the years. People don't respect D'Onofrio and there is not much love for his assistants either (including Barrow, who is from down here). As much as fans hate these behind-the-scenes individuals, they hold the key to landing many of the kids down here. Why do you think Joseph Yearby switched from FSU to Miami when Coley took the job here? Because Coley has had a relationship with one of the most important people in Yearby's inner-circle, one of his coaches from optimist ball.

I don't have the answers as to how this could be fixed and this is obviously not the only thing holding this program back right now, but the fact of the matter is that it's been a decade since Miami was truly relevant on the national stage and the recruits coming up over the next few years and beyond will have never seen a good Hurricanes team. Miami will continue to lose top talents until these relationships are patched up.

[UMike]

Ariz...

Checked in with Kaaya

Says last night will not have an effect on his commitment and is still solid.

[UMike]

I was watching the bowl game Syracuse and Minnesota and the announcers kept talking about how Syracuse hadn't give up 100 yard to a RB ALL YEAR...They played Penn State, GT, Clemson & FSU and didnt give up 100 yards to a RB. Does Syracuse how more talent than Miami? IDK, but it was kinda shocking considering the rushing yards we gave up against lesser teams and players.

[UpNorthCane27]

Umike you right your boy was crazy for thinking what he did lol. But hey you have to admit once we got that safety we were at an all time high.

I'm at a lost for words I don't know what the hell were going to do with our team. The stat that has bothered me the most was the one that showed how we have given up more than 500 yards of offense to the last 6 teams we played. That shit is depressing!

And the offense is not off the hook, What in the hell happened? I pray to god that Coley isn't the second coming of Nix or I might just put myself in the nut house. His play calling was stupid, our o-line couldn't figure out how to stop the whole UFO defense.

Goddamit Golden I'm a fan of you because you do it by the book and you seem like a great coach and guy, but enough is enough! be a freaking killer, FIRE NO'D, and WARN Coley about this BS offense and if Kehoe can't get it right I'm sorry buddy but your outta here also.

Dorsey for HEAD COACH!!!!

[UMike]

UpNorth.. I agree, we got to fire D'No and warn Coley... The fact that the D gave up that many yards and at the end of the season to me puts the blame on the coaches. Adjustments have to be made somewhere. IDK, I still dont think Golden will fire him, and it is going to eventually cost him his job... if he doesnt leave to Penn State once their coach signs with the Texans

[raizecane]

AG is NOT going to Penn State......

[UMike]

Another scary thing is we lost ONE player... ONE and our offense imploded.. and that player wasnt our starting QB, IDK where that falls, because we still have talent on the O side even with Duke down. I still think Clements should of got more carries, he never loses yards and can catch. And that whole guard tapping the center for the snap shyt needs to go... I cannot tell you how many games where the announces said the D line knows when he snap is every time. I mean, some of this stuff (on both sides of the ball) is elementary lol

[UMike]

I like Golden, but if he cant fire or hire the right assistants, he wont last.

[LB]

Ken Dorsey anywhere on the UM coaching staff would be an ultimate step up.

[CGNC]

Posted by: Canesteeler | December 30, 2013 at 07:47 AM

100% agree. Post of the morning. Would like to see the Whitlock article. I fell different (better) about the Pens this year, they are playing a grittier style - I credit that to the acquisition of Jacques Martin to help coach the defense

[UpNorthCane27]

Umike you got it bro, that whole gimmick of looking up when your about to snap the ball and the tapping of the guard is plain ol stupid. Why do that? I remember soup saying, " Line up and hike the fcking ball" when we were at the Florida game and I couldn't agree more with him.

Were we an explosive offense? at times here and there. But I think we were more mediocre then anything, and I go back to my biggest issue the amount of 3 and outs and Stephen Morris's lack of leadership.

[CGNC]

^^feel

[Account Deleted]

this guard tapping the center for the snap thing is a puzzle. If the announcers can see it, and we know it, and the opposing D knows it, why are/were we still doing it? has this been going on all season? or just in the bowl game?

and agree with the above, the loss of Duke should not have shut down the entire running game as it did for the final few games. Other teams lose key players and move on. I can see the QB spot being a major loss, but are we saying we only have 1 RB who can play?

So many unanswered questions. Losing badly will always bring these to light.....

[dj moonbat]

I like Golden, but if he cant fire or hire the right assistants, he wont last.

Posted by: UMike | December 30, 2013 at 09:27 AM

F that. Al seems "likable" enough, I guess, if you don't like your pals to be dependable and truthful.

Al Golden's spiel from day one has been "trust me, I have a Plan." Okay, it's year three. Can you tell us how long Step 1 in your Plan ("Persist in Sucking") is supposed to last? Is there any step in the Plan besides "Recruit" that is supposed to make this team capable of championships again?

The Louisville loss reeked of lack of planning and preparation. Planning and preparation are the very essence of Al's job description. But he persists in demanding that fans and players alike trust in his freaking Plan.

F that.

[Account Deleted]

Just some stats looking back at the last 6 games where we gave up 500yds+.....

Team Scores/Drives Turnovers
FSU 7 out of 10 1 Turnover
VT 6 out of 12 no turnovers
Duke 8 out of 12 no turnovers
VA 5 out of 15 4 turnovers
Pitt

[Account Deleted]

oops...

Pitt 5 out of 11 1 turnover and a missed FG
UL 7 out of 10 missed FG

Looks to me that unless the other team self destructs with TO's they score about 75% of the time they have the ball.

fyi, stat does not include end of game or end of half possessions unless it was a score....