Greg Dortch always told his son that if he got the wind knocked out, he needed to get up right away or stop playing football. Nothing’s broken, nothing’s bleeding, so get up and get back in the game.
So when the younger Greg Dortch caught a swing pass from John Wolford at the 6-yard line against Louisville last season and launched himself from the 3-yard line to get under a defender — his 5-foot-9 frame skidding atop a pylon — his father’s words echoed in his mind as he caught his breath.
“So I’m thinking like, ‘Oh, I’ve gotta get up,’” Dortch said last week, revisiting it roughly a week away from Wake Forest’s first spring practice.