Nottingham graduate Dorsey Levens is considered one of the most talented athletes to hail from Syracuse. In high school, Levens set a multitude of records on the gridiron and the basketball court for the Bulldogs. From 1984 to 1989, he set a Section III record for points scored in a football game (50 in 1988), rushed for over 3,000 career yards and was selected as a Parade Magazine Football All-American. He was also the 1989’s New York Upstate Football player of the year. He rushed for 1,062 yards his senior season, scored 22 touchdowns and ended his scholastic career with 3,161 yards and 50 TDs.

 

Levens’ basketball career was equally impressive. A three-time all-state pick, he scored 1,472 points and helped his team win a state title as well as three Metro championships including a string of 40 straight wins. Levens was the first player in Central New York history to rush for 3,000 yards and score 1,000 points in a high school career. Sports Illustrated included him in their “Faces in the Crowd” feature.

 

Levens went to Notre Dame to play football but a knee injury his sophomore year cut short his career with the Irish. He transferred to Georgia Tech in 1990. He played flanker during the 1992 season before moving to tailback in 1993. Levens posted five 100-yard games and finished with 823 yards on 114 carries for a 7.2 yards per carry average. He was named to the All-ACC team as a running back and concluded in his college career in the 1993 Blue-Gray All-Star Classic in Montgomery where he scored on a pass that led his Gray team to a 17 -14 victory. Dorsey graduated from Georgia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in Business Law.

 

Levens signed with the Green Bay Packers out of college where he started for seven seasons and blossomed into one of the league’s outstanding running backs. In 1996, the Pack won Super Bowl XXXI. In 1997, he rushed for 1,435 yards, just 39 yards short of Jim Taylor’s all-time Packer record but the Green and Gold lost to the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. Two more seasons with the Pack ended with injuries and Levens went on to stints with Philadelphia, the New York Giants and then back to Philly. As an Eagle, he recorded 94 carries, 410 yards and four TDs on the way to another Super Bowl appearance against New England. His NFL career included 4,954 yards rushing on 1,234 carries, 36 touchdowns and three Super Bowls appearances. He retired from the NFL at the age of 34.

 

Career Highlights:

 

1984-1989: Nottingham High School. Only CNY Player to gain 3,000 yards in football and score 1,000 pts in basketball; Selected as Parade Magazine's "High School Football All- American"; Sept 16, 1988, scored 50 points in one game vs. Whitesboro on seven TDs and four two-point conversions.

 

1994: Selected by the Green Bay Packers as the 18th player in the fifth round

 

2006: Retired from NFL

 

NFL Statistics: 11 Years, 4,954 yards, 1,243 carries, 36 TDs, played in three Super Bowls (1996, 1997, 2005)

 

Honors:

 

Named by the Syracuse Newspapers as a tri-captain of our half-century football honors team on Jan. 1, 2000

 

2000: Nottingham High School retired his football jersey No. 24

 

The Dorsey Levens Foundation, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1998 by NFL running back Dorsey Levens, who plays a significant role

in the foundation's administrative, fundraising and community activities. To learn more about the foundation go to:http://www.levensfoundation.org/home.htm