Bucs gain a warrior, philosopher Hubert Mizell, The St.Petersburg Times, published 7 September 1992 How long have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers been searching for an interior defensive lineman who can stalk, suppress and squash enemy passers? Since a Democrat was in the White House? Since the football Cardinals were in St. Louis? Or was it Chicago? Since the bar mitzvah of George Burns? Santana Dotson wants the job. On a rare victorious Sunday at Tampa Stadium, to the glee of newcomer Bucs coach Sam Wyche, and to the wincing chagrin of Phoenix quarterback Timm Rosenbach, the 270-pound rookie from Baylor was a crusher. Dotson's inaugural NFL cheers came for burying Phoenix running back Larry Centers for a 4-yard loss in the first quarter, putting the Cardinals in a hole to set the table for a Darrell Fullington interception of a hurried Rosenbach pass. 'Twas but a Dotson hors d'oeuvre. Just past halftime, Tampa Bay led 10-7, but there wasn't a soul in the almost-half-empty house who was unaware of the Bucs' historic penchant for finding ways to lose. Santana took the challenge in his powerful 22-year-old hands and would squeeze and squeeze until Rosenbach and his Redbirds turned blue in the face. Bam! Dotson sacked Phoenix's quarterback, a loss of 12 yards that caused the Cards to punt. Thud! Next time the team from Arizona got the ball, Dotson and Tampa Bay linemate Ray Seals kayoed tailback Ivory Lee Brown for a 1-yard loss on first down. Then, the most dramatic hit . . . Rosenbach, a gifted young quarterback who missed the entire 1991 season because of a shattered knee, had struggled in Sunday's season opener. On third down, he gazed downfield, waiting for Randal Hill or Ricky Proehl or some other flying Phoenix receiver to pop open and trigger a third-period comeback. From Rosenbach's blind side, Dotson came like a bullet train. Timm was skewered. Phoenix's ace pitcher lay on the Tampa Stadium grass for a long, long time. Dotson went to the Bucs' bench and then returned to the field, "hoping my tackle had not badly hurt Timm." Rosenbach left on a stretcher, lying motionless with hands folded across his chest. Phoenix's chances went with him. "How bad is he?" Dotson asked after the Bucs had won 23-7. Only some lower-back pain and an all-pro headache. He grinned, and said, "Thank heaven it's no worse." So who is Santana Dotson, a fifth-round draft pick who has been rather lightly advertised as Wyche brought in 20 new Bucs in hopes of ridding Tampa Stadium of a stench left by old unproductive Tampa Bay athletes? He is named for Santana, an 1800s Indian chief who ruled Arizona desert country long before the Cardinals came to try. "Santana had a wonderful philosophy," said Dotson, "that with unity comes victory." This is too much to ask. A pass-rusher who can not only nag and snag quarterbacks like Rosenbach - achieving seven tackles, two sacks, a batted-down pass - but who also can quote Native American philosophy and even African-American poetry. "My work as a football player means that I have to be strong and try to push people around," the rookie said, the sweat of a 95-degree Sunday still beading on his generous forehead. "But when I'm alone, and it's quiet, I like to read the poems of Langston Hughes. His poems tell me so much "His poems tell me so much about life and my heritage," said Sunday's surprise hero. Dotson's father, Alphonse, was a 262-pound defensive lineman who played five NFL seasons in the late 1960s for Kansas City, Miami and Oakland. Dad Dotson played in two AFL Championship Games with the Raiders before retiring in 1970 when his son was barely a year old. "We talk football a lot," said the Bucs' rookie, "and my father was here for my first NFL game. Things went good, but I'll bet he gives me a tough critique." Alphonse, 49, is now in the import business in Acapulco, Mexico. Santana was All-American at Baylor, but his pro stock slipped in an uncelebrated senior season. "It was awful, waiting until the NFL's fifth round before I got drafted," he said. "But that has become my challenge. My goal is to become the best NFL fifth-rounder of 1992, and after that to become the best fifth-rounder in history." Sunday was a smashing start. Ask Timm Rosenbach and his decked Cards.