Overcoming adversity
SRA’s Dorbor back after foot injury
SMITHFIELD — There are two types of Bryant University football players.
There are players like Woonsocket’s Mekhi Henderson and Hendricken’s Chris Hindle who were recruited by first-year coach James Perry to fit into an up-tempo system.
On the flip side, there are players like Cumberland’s Joe Fine who were recruited by the previous administration and spent spring practices trying to catch Perry’s eye.
And then there’s former St. Raphael standout running back Alfred Dorbor.
Dorbor was recruited out of Blair Academy in New Jersey by former coach Marty Fine, but he never played a down for Fine because he suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot during training camp in 2016.
The injury, which required surgery, meant that Dorbor didn’t have a chance to impress Perry in the spring. While he wasn’t on the field in the spring, Dorbor soaked up all the information he could from practices and meetings to prepare for what he hoped would be a successful redshirt freshman campaign.
“You know what he does really well right now? He has great command of the offense,” Perry said after Saturday’s scrimmage at Bulldog Stadium. “We only had him in the spring from a mental perspective, so I wasn’t sure without getting reps how we would do. He has great command of the offense, so we can rely on him to do the right things.”
Nobody was sure Dorbor would be healthy enough to play this season – after all Dorbor broke a piece of his bone in his second metatarsal, which led him to breaking the bottom of every metatarsal. Dorbor had surgery last summer and spent the offseason rehabbing with an eye on returning to the field in 2017.
“I did a lot of work to get back. I went to trainers in (New) Jersey and did therapy over here and I went to my own training room,” Dorbor said. “It was about working hard, so I could be able to play again this season.
“It was about being consistent and working at it and working at it. Sometimes it’s hard because it was a big injury, but you have to stay consistent and keep chipping at it little by little.”
Perry, who was aware of Dorbor when he was playing at Blair in 2015, said he was surprised to see Dorbor fully fit when training camp started in early August.
“We’ve kind of moving him in slowly because he had a serious injury, but he’s gotten great treatment from Patrick (O’Sullivan) and the staff,” Perry said. “He takes the recovery end of it seriously. He’s recovered much faster than I thought. I would’ve guessed it would be hard for him to play this year, but he’s a determined kid.”
The hard work appears to have paid off because in Saturday’s scrimmage, Dorbor was practicing with the first offensive unit. The 5foot-9, 200-pound tailback showed glimpses of what made him the 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year after leading St. Raphael to the Division II regular season title.
Dorbor is battling for playing time with junior Brenden Femiano, who rushed for 366 yards and four touchdowns on 80 carries last season. True freshman Isaac McCray, who is the younger brother of former Bryant standout Rico McCray, is also in the mix for playing time.
“Honestly, I felt back to normal when I came to camp,” said Dorbor, who was told he has moved past the point of reinjury. “I was running during the summer, but the foot wasn’t where I wanted it to be, but once I came to camp and I started going to the training room, I started feel like I wanted to.”
Whether he gets one carry or is Bryant’s feature back in the season opener against Merrimack on Sept. 2, Dorbor will just be happy to be back on the field after football was taken away from him by a freak injury.
“It was crazy, I wanted to play football so bad,” said Dorbor, 19. “My birthday is coming up (August 30) and all I wanted was two healthy legs and to be able to play football. I’ve never been injured before, so having that happen to me was really a big deal.”