Six months ago, Jorvorskie Lane found himself working in a furniture store in his hometown of Lufkin, Texas. Today, Lane sits atop an NFL depth chart as a starting fullback.
At Texas A&M, Jorvorskie Lane was a touchdown machine as he reached the end zone an impressive 35 times in his sophmore and junior seasons. At this time Lane was the starting tailback and was recieving the bulk of the carries in the Aggies offence. In his senior year Texas A&M hired a new head coach, current Dolphins offensive cordinator Mike Sherman. Once Sherman took over, Lane was converted to fullback causing an incredible decrease in his production and he no longer contributed as much as in the past. He finished his senior year with career lows in all statistical categories and finished with only 93 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns. As a result, Lane’s draft stock plummeted and he was neither selected in the 2009 NFL Draft or signed as an undrafted free agent.
Despite a forgettable senior year, Jorvorskie Lane’s total of 49 touchdowns is good enough to give him the school record for most career scores. After not being able to find a job in the NFL, Lane took his talents to the Indoor Football League and played the 2010 season with the West Texas Roughnecks. As a member of the Roughnecks, Lane added 12 more touchdowns to his career tally.
In the three years that followed, Jorvorskie Lane was not invloved in any professional football league and discovered that his dream of playing in the NFL was quickly slipping away. However Lane ensured that he remained in shape and took part in MMA and boxing training in order to do so. With all aspects of football coming naturally to Lane, he was aware that maintaining his weight was crucial for him to achieve his goal. His efforts payed off as he lost over 50 pounds since February.
After the departure of Lousaka Polite in the offseason, the Dolphins had a glaring need at fullback. With Sherman already having plenty of experience working with Lane, he showed his belief in the former Aggie by convincing the Miami front office to sign him to a contract.
Standing at 5’11, Jorvorskie Lane is now down to 258 pounds. With the recent releases of Ryan Mahaffey and Jerome Messam, Lane has the starting fullback job all but locked up. Although the west coast offence that head coach Joe Philbin is installing doesn’t require a fullback in most packages, Lane will be used where he is most effective, in goal line work. Lane is a physical runner and his blocking ability alone should guarantee his spot on the 53 man roster.
For a fullback, Lane is also a reliable option in the passing game making him a nightmare for opposing defences to gameplan against. Unless tailback Daniel Thomas improves on converting 3rd and short situations where he was 3 for 13 a year ago, Lane may have a larger role in the offence than expected.
Jorvorskie Lane has taken full advantage of his long awaited opportunity to play in the NFL against all the odds. “My first love is football, so I kept the dream alive and never gave up” said Lane. Considering his role in the preseason, he may emerge as a key component to the Dolphins offence this year.
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