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*EDITOR’S NOTE- This story orginally ran in 2017 as a part of the Class of 2017 Troy Sports Hall of Fame ceremony.*
Big, powerful, yet resilient. DeWhitt Betterson ran the ball with conviction and he ran it often. The all-time leading rusher in Troy history, Betterson was a key member of the Troy football teams that helped the Trojans make the transition from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Sun Belt Conference. At 6-feet, 218 pounds Betterson, who played for the Trojans from 2001-04, rushed for 3,441 yards on 653 carries over his four-year career – his career rushing total is 515 yards more than anyone else in school history. A Stake, Fla., native, Betterson was an important recruit for the transitioning Trojans to land. “Boy, he helped us win a lot of games,” former Troy football head coach Larry Blakeney said. “He turned into a beast, a great player. He was such a durable guy, one that was not only good enough to make plays, but he could last until the end of the game and make plays down the stretch, too.” Betterson earned first team All-Sun Belt Conference honors in Troy’s first year in the league after rushing for 1,161 yards his junior season. Additionally, Betterson was named Co-MVP of the Silicon Valley Football Classic after he rushed for 150 yards in Troy’s first-ever bowl appearance. His 150 rushing yards still stands as the most in a bowl game in Troy history. “He was a big guy that could carry the load,” Blakeney said. “He would run it just as hard in quarter one as he would in quarter four. He really wore defenses down and that helped us in those years of transition. We were able to keep our defense off the field and really move the football offensively because he could grind out yards.”
Betterson is responsible for three of the top 15 single-game rushing totals in school history – he rushed for 230 yards and two scores against Utah State in 2003, which ranks as the third most rushing yards in a game in Troy history. He also rushed for 184 yards and two scores against Idaho in 2004. In fact, Betterson finished that season rushing for 120-plus yards in three consecutive games. He finished his career with 100 or more rushing yards in 14 games with seven coming in 2004 – both school records. He recorded 24 rushing touchdowns in his career – fifth most is school history – and averaged more that 107 yards per game in his senior season – a Troy singleseason record. “He was a quiet, soft-spoken guy, but he carried a big stick,” Blakeney said. “He made our offense what it was because we had a tailback that could get the job done. He could carry the ball 25 times a game and still have something left in the tank. He really was an impressive athlete.” One the most unforgettable touchdowns in Troy football history started with a handoff to Betterson but ended with an unlikely hero emerging to save the day. On Sept. 9, 2004, Troy was hosting No. 17 Missouri - its first-ever ranked FBS opponent. The Trojans trailed 14-7 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half when quarterback Aaron Leak handed the ball to Betterson on a simple dive play up the middle. After breaking one tackle, Betterson stumbled, was immediately hit by another defender and fumbled the ball into the air. However, seemingly out of nowhere 280-pound offensive lineman Junior Louissaint appeared and hauled in the loose ball. The lineman then rumbled 63 yards for a touchdown to tie the game. The Trojans went on to win the contest, 24-14. Betterson went on to coach Pop Warner football in addition to a successful professional career as a Senior Officer for the Bureau of Prisons.
