Bucknell University Athletics
Changes Began at the Top
11/3/2006 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 3, 2006
By Todd Merriett, Bucknell Athletic Communications
After enduring a difficult 1-10 season last fall, Dorian Petersen was ready for a change as he looked ahead to his final campaign in Orange and Blue. That started with removing his trademark dreadlocks that he had sported since arriving on the Bucknell campus in the summer of 2003. Apparently that change has helped as the Bison football squad has posted an improved 5-4 mark through its first nine games in 2006.
"I cut my hair last year after the season," remembers Petersen, who is a senior co-captain and in his third year starting at linebacker for Bucknell. "I figured it was time for a change. A new haircut. A new year. A new everything. It was symbolic of the new season."
Typically a soft-spoken person, Petersen has also changed that approach in his role as captain. At the weekly Lewisburg Touchdown Club luncheon at the Lewisburg Hotel, an event Petersen has accepted numerous awards at over the years, he has been much more vociferous this fall. In his younger days he would give short, straightforward answers to questions. Now, he even draws a few laughs out of the crowd, many of whom did not even recognize him in early September with his newly shorn head.
While Petersen has changed many things in his attempt to lead the Bison, one thing that has not changed is his performance on the field. The team's second-leading tackler a year ago, Petersen paces the squad with 83 this season and is poised to record a career high with seven more tackles over the final two games. The Rahway, N.J., native is third on the team with 3.5 tackles for loss as well. Most impressively, he has racked up his sparkling numbers that will put him under consideration for his first All-Patriot League honor while battling a significant knee injury.
The veteran of 39 career games underwent knee surgery following last year and is currently playing with bone rubbing on bone in his knee. Despite that fact, he impresses his coaches by showing up at practice ready to work every day.
"It's tough on a weekly basis, but if you want to play, you are going to find a way to play," explains Petersen, who is seen roaming the halls outside of the training room inside the Kenneth Langone Athletics and Recreation Center on a regular basis. "Since I'm not really injured, I do everything I can to get out on the field, especially as a captain. If my teammates would see me down and out, it wouldn't be good for the morale of the squad."
That mentality is part of what fourth-year head coach Tim Landis and his staff have been preaching to the Bison since the end of the disappointing 2005 campaign. Landis has wanted his team to have a greater sense of toughness this year, and behind Petersen and fellow co-captain Stefan Niemczyk, the Bison have shown that.
Petersen, who will be starting the 30th game of his career Saturday afternoon against Fordham, expects his teammates to follow his lead, while he leaves the "rah-rah" leadership to Niemczyk. However, if needed, the quiet Petersen doesn't mind raising his voice a little.
With a seemingly natural blanket of maturity over him, it is difficult to imagine Petersen has not always been so professional and proper. A starter in the final two games of his freshman season, Petersen was not grateful to be on the field. Instead, he remembers thinking "finally, what took so long," not realizing the honor it was to start as a rookie, especially on a squad that posted a 6-6 record and finished above .500 in the Patriot League. In fact, he was the only Bison rookie to start a game on defense that year.
As a freshman, Petersen played in nine games and posted solid numbers with 35 tackles. He followed that up with a career-high 89 tackles and seven tackles for loss as a sophomore when he played alongside All-Patriot League linebacker Kevin Ransome. Last season, the 5-10, 229-pound Petersen focused more on pass coverage and recorded the first three interceptions of his career while also deflecting seven passes. Additionally, he added 78 tackles to put him over 200 in his career.
Among the Patriot League's better defensive players since arriving at Bucknell, Petersen honed his skills at Rahway High School, where he also ran track and played basketball. One of his biggest steps in getting ready to play football at the Division I level occurred in the summer before his senior year. Petersen's god-uncle, Irving Fryar, a 17-year veteran NFL wide receiver who was selected to five Pro Bowls, took Petersen under his wing and trained with him for the summer.
That training with Fryar, who was the top overall pick in the 1984 NFL Draft out of the University of Nebraska, may have solidified Bucknell's interest in Petersen. The Bison coaching staff had its eye on Petersen during his junior year through contacts with his high school coach. However, a new coach took over prior to Petersen's senior year, but Bucknell continued to pursue him much like he does ball carriers.
"Coach (Jared) Backus came to visit me my senior year and Bucknell provided me the best education along with a high grade of football, so I decided to come here," remembers Petersen. "Also, my mom loved Bucknell and was the driving force behind my decision. She liked that I would be away from home in this type of setting to keep me out of trouble. We didn't bother taking any other visits because she liked Bucknell so much."
Petersen's mother, Tina, has continued her love of Bucknell as she travels to a number of games every year to root her son on. Unfortunately, that opportunity will soon come to an end as Petersen has just three regular season games left in his college career, something that has not really hit him yet.
"Even my senior year in high school I never thought of myself as leaving until it was actually over," recalls Petersen. "In fact, I did not even think of the Colgate game as Senior Day until it was recently mentioned to me. I just hope to have a good performance that day."
With his football career coming to an end, Petersen would love to follow in the footsteps of former teammate Sean Conover and play professionally. However, he is not sure that opportunity will be there for him. Instead, he is eyeing the end of the football season as a time to get started on his job search.
"My major is business administration, so there are thousands of job opportunities out there," explains Petersen, who is still unsure of exactly what he hopes to do. "Right now I am trying to focus on finishing up my major this semester, as well as football. Then, in the winter and spring I am going to get moving on the job search. I have had a few offers, including PSEG electric company in New Jersey, but I did not get into my search as much as I wanted to, so I want to leave time to explore."
With the upcoming spring void of football for the first time in close to a decade, Petersen, who has appeared on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll and has a cumulative grade-point average of better than 3.0, will have plenty of extra time for his job search. That should help him find a job in a warmer location that he covets after spending his first 21 years in the Northeast.
It looks like the changes will continue for Petersen. However, it looks like the streamlined haircut will stay with the success it has brought him.
