Roosevelt returns to football with new stadium, new coach Anthony Dotson

Like an increasing number of Public League schools, Roosevelt has its own football stadium. Unlike the others, though, the Rough Riders didn't have a team to play there. That's about to change.

Roosevelt, which last played a football game in 2022, has hired Anthony Dotson as head coach and will be back on the field this fall.

Dotson spent three years as head coach at Chicago Academy before serving as an assistant at Schurz last fall. He had an itch to run his own program again, and was struck by Roosevelt's potential when he'd drive past it on the way to work.

"They had a $6 million field," Dotson said. "It looks like a college stadium."

But it was underutilized since opening in 2023. Roosevelt's soccer teams have played there, and nearby schools occasionally have rented the stadium to host JV football games.

Now it's about to get busier. Dotson reached out to school administrators about rebooting the football program and they were receptive.

He has about 20 players committed for what will be a JV season this fall, with a move to varsity competition after that. Dotson is being patient about the process.

"When you're bringing a team back, the biggest thing is not to run [the players] away," he said.

One way Dotson hoped to keep the Rough Riders engaged is by sharing his own story of perseverance.

"In high school, I constantly got into fights," the Phillips alum told the Sun-Times in 2021. "I graduated with a 1.9 [grade-point average]."

He played college football at Division II Livingstone (North Carolina) and Division III Rockford, earning a degree in sports management at Livingstone. Post-college life was tough initially, including two months in 2017 when Dotson was homeless and sleeping in his car.

But he was hired by Chicago Public Schools first as a security officer and then as a youth intervention specialist, helping to make sure kids' small problems didn't become big ones. Coaching is just an extension of that mission.

"I always talk about how football changed my life," Dotson said.

He's hoping it can change some more lives at Roosevelt. For now, he's building the program infrastructure. There are new jerseys to buy and new equipment to secure, new coaches to hire.

Derrell Gray, who played and coached for Dotson at Chicago Academy, will be an assistant. Ditto for Malcolm Radcliffe, who's also the head baseball coach at Schurz.

"I'm excited," Dotson said. "It's more positives than negatives. The one thing I've got to do is get these kids invested."

Pierce picks Leathernecks

Brother Rice linebacker Christian Pierce, the state's top uncommitted senior, is heading to Western Illinois.

The 6-0, 210-pounder is No. 19 in the 247Sports composite rankings for Illinois' class of 2025.

He's a three-star prospect who was the Crusaders' defensive MVP as a sophomore before missing most of his junior year with a torn ACL and returning last season.

Junior update

Illinois has two top-100 players nationally and seven in the top 200 in the 247Sports composite rankings.

Leading the way are uncommitted tight end Mack Sutter of Dunlap at No. 86 and Lincoln-Way East quarterback Jonas Williams at No. 88.

Williams and Mount Carmel defensive lineman Braeden Jones, who's 149th nationally, are both committed to USC.

The state's other top-200 players are Mount Zion tight end JC Anderson, No. 145; Mount Carmel offensive tackle Claude Mpouma, No. 159; Simeon defensive lineman McHale Blade, No. 185; and Morgan Park athlete Nasir Rankin, No. 194. All are uncommitted.