Bob Dozier Quotations

I was sitting in my office doing paperwork and I heard this voice behind me, saying, 'Coach, my name is Jerome Bettis. Can I play football for you?

When there was that situation with that fumble (late in the playoff win over Indianapolis) that was rectified by that tackle, that proved that it his destiny to win this game.

Jerome is the total package. He has great character and he's a wonderful human being who is a self-motivated leader with an infectious, positive outlook on life.

This is a big thing for the (school) community, the town everybody.

In his first game, he ran 120 yards and two touchdowns, and 180 yards and two touchdowns in the next game. Then, he said, 'Coach, I like this.

I'm just so happy for Jerome, and I'm happy for Mackenzie. I feel it won't end when he parks the bus in Detroit. I think he's going to win it.

Their sophomore year, I put the guys down as defensive linemen to make them tough. I did the same thing with Pepper Johnson and Kevin Brooks.

I just think it's destiny. God looks out for good people. Jerome is a good citizen, and he's a benevolent person in the community. It's destiny for him to start in Detroit and end in Detroit.

You can say what you like but we are looking at sporting destiny. Here is a young man for whom it all started in Detroit, and now he's coming home to play in the greatest sporting event of all.

It's a tough area. South of the school, there are high- and upper-middle-class citizens - lots of doctors, lawyers, teachers and principals. North of the school, where Jerome lived, you have the inner city. It's a pretty tough area. Jerome and his parents did a great job avoiding the pitfalls of that.