Gold Jacket Spotlight: Special ‘knocks’ bookend Jerome Bettis’ football career
Gold Jacket Spotlight
Published on : 6/3/2024
JEROME BETTIS' playing career in football began, then reached its pinnacle, with a pair of memorable door knocks.
Those two life-changing door-openers are the subject of this week’s Gold Jacket Spotlight.
Bob Dozier, Jerome’s high school football coach at Mackenzie High School in Detroit, recalled the episode during which Jerome inquired about an opportunity to play on the football team.
“I was sitting one day at my desk doing some paperwork, and I heard a knock on the door,” Dozier told NFL Films in “A Football Life.” “ ‘Coach, my name is Jerome Bettis, and I want to play football for you.’ I saw this kid; he looked like a Black Superman. My reply to his question was, ‘Hell, yeah, son. You can play for me.’ ”
Jerome proved to be as super as Dozier imagined, and by the conclusion of his senior season was ranked as the No. 1 high school fullback in the country and the No. 2 linebacker.
“I was a better linebacker in high school that I was a running back,” Jerome told NFL Films.
Those accomplishments led to an opportunity to enroll at the University of Notre Dame.
“Jerome was unbelievable,” former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz professed to “A Football Life.” “They could not stop him. I knew he was a first-round draft pick.”
After being inserted into the Fighting Irish’s starting lineup as a sophomore, Jerome scored a single-season school-record 20 touchdowns (16 rushing and four receiving). The record remains intact.
“I was the announcer at Notre Dame when (Jerome) was in college,” shared Cris Collinsworth. “When you saw this guy touch the ball, you just kept thinking, ‘That’s not possible. Something that big can’t move that fast.’”
As Holtz predicted, the big, quick back became the first-round selection (10th overall pick) of the Los Angeles Rams, who ran the ideal offensive scheme for Jerome.
“I went to the right team for me. Chuck Knox was the head coach. He had a reputation for running. They called him ‘Ground Chuck’ because he loved to run the football. He envisioned me as a tailback, not a fullback, and I think that decision changed my life.”
The combination of Knox’s vision and Jerome’s effort earned the converted running back Offensive Rookie of the Year and All-Pro honors from the Associated Press and Rookie of the Year recognition from the Professional Football Writers of America and Sporting News for the 1993 season.
The combination of the Rams’ relocation to St. Louis and a head coaching change resulted in Jerome being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to the 1996 season.
“We found out Rich Brooks (Rams head coach) was putting Jerome Bettis on the trading block, and I said, ‘Wow! This is a great match.’ He was just natural in our offense,” Steelers Hall of Fame coach BILL COWHER recollected for NFL Films.
“He represented everything I believed in in the game of football,” Cowher said.
Jerome contributed 10 seasons to the Steelers and concluded his playing career near Mackenzie where it all began, in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field in Detroit. Jerome and the Steelers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy after defeating Seattle 21-10.
“Jerome Bettis was selfless. Jerome Bettis took less money. Jerome Bettis took less of a role late in his career. It was almost like the lesser role he accepted, the bigger role he had in our team in terms of leadership,” Cowher said.
In 2015, the Pro Football Hall of Fame delivered “the knock” that finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame await and cherish, welcoming Jerome as member No. 288 of its elite club.
Those two life-changing door-openers are the subject of this week’s Gold Jacket Spotlight.
Bob Dozier, Jerome’s high school football coach at Mackenzie High School in Detroit, recalled the episode during which Jerome inquired about an opportunity to play on the football team.
“I was sitting one day at my desk doing some paperwork, and I heard a knock on the door,” Dozier told NFL Films in “A Football Life.” “ ‘Coach, my name is Jerome Bettis, and I want to play football for you.’ I saw this kid; he looked like a Black Superman. My reply to his question was, ‘Hell, yeah, son. You can play for me.’ ”
Jerome proved to be as super as Dozier imagined, and by the conclusion of his senior season was ranked as the No. 1 high school fullback in the country and the No. 2 linebacker.
“I was a better linebacker in high school that I was a running back,” Jerome told NFL Films.
Those accomplishments led to an opportunity to enroll at the University of Notre Dame.
“Jerome was unbelievable,” former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz professed to “A Football Life.” “They could not stop him. I knew he was a first-round draft pick.”
After being inserted into the Fighting Irish’s starting lineup as a sophomore, Jerome scored a single-season school-record 20 touchdowns (16 rushing and four receiving). The record remains intact.
“I was the announcer at Notre Dame when (Jerome) was in college,” shared Cris Collinsworth. “When you saw this guy touch the ball, you just kept thinking, ‘That’s not possible. Something that big can’t move that fast.’”
As Holtz predicted, the big, quick back became the first-round selection (10th overall pick) of the Los Angeles Rams, who ran the ideal offensive scheme for Jerome.
“I went to the right team for me. Chuck Knox was the head coach. He had a reputation for running. They called him ‘Ground Chuck’ because he loved to run the football. He envisioned me as a tailback, not a fullback, and I think that decision changed my life.”
The combination of Knox’s vision and Jerome’s effort earned the converted running back Offensive Rookie of the Year and All-Pro honors from the Associated Press and Rookie of the Year recognition from the Professional Football Writers of America and Sporting News for the 1993 season.
The combination of the Rams’ relocation to St. Louis and a head coaching change resulted in Jerome being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to the 1996 season.
“We found out Rich Brooks (Rams head coach) was putting Jerome Bettis on the trading block, and I said, ‘Wow! This is a great match.’ He was just natural in our offense,” Steelers Hall of Fame coach BILL COWHER recollected for NFL Films.
“He represented everything I believed in in the game of football,” Cowher said.
Jerome contributed 10 seasons to the Steelers and concluded his playing career near Mackenzie where it all began, in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field in Detroit. Jerome and the Steelers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy after defeating Seattle 21-10.
“Jerome Bettis was selfless. Jerome Bettis took less money. Jerome Bettis took less of a role late in his career. It was almost like the lesser role he accepted, the bigger role he had in our team in terms of leadership,” Cowher said.
In 2015, the Pro Football Hall of Fame delivered “the knock” that finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame await and cherish, welcoming Jerome as member No. 288 of its elite club.
Previous Article
Rare combination of size, strength, speed — Larry Allen: 1971-2024
Larry Allen, recognized as one of the strongest players in NFL history and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2013, died June 2, 2024, while vacationing with his family, according to a statement from the Cowboys. He was 52.
Next Article
Writer D. Orlando Ledbetter selected as winner of 2024 Bill Nunn Memorial Award
D. Orlando Ledbetter, who writes about the Atlanta Falcons for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and has covered the NFL since the late 1980s, Thursday was selected as the 2024 Bill Nunn Memorial Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).