@antooo posted:
Who says he can't catch? His screens and flats look quite good.
Give Dillon #31. Jim Taylor will be smiling down from above.
He was already assigned 28 and why would Amos give up his number?
Went right over your head.
Offensive ROY. In early with that.
I'm down with that! ð
Jones and Dillon will dominate! Thunder and Lightning!
@Packmeister posted:I'm down with that! ð
I think that would require an injury to Jones or Williams getting traded. I'd be OK with the latter if it improved a weak spot on the team but not so much the Jones injury.
I agree...I just want to revel in pre-season hype, though...ð
Besides, Dillon is the real deal...I pity da' fools try to tackle him...
Very interesting read. A very determined young man.
He is a very willing blocker.
@Gsands posted:Very interesting read. A very determined young man.
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Sorry,
Some highlights:
GREEN BAY â When A.J. Dillon was almost 10 years old, he descended the stairs one afternoon to find his mother sleeping on the couch, still wearing her waitress uniform.
She was resting after another shift. Only a few hours remained until her next gig, night classes for her masterâs degree at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.
It was always that way for Jessyca Gatewood-Campbell. A single mother at the time, jobs rolled into classes that rolled back into jobs, a continuous cycle of trying to make ends meet. She juggled two, three, sometimes four paychecks at a time, determined to provide the best life possible for her son.
That determination wasnât lost on young A.J.
Mom didnât know the influence she had on her child, that she was laying the foundation of a work ethic that would carry her son to the NFL. On this day, a thought was born in Dillonâs mind.
âI made her a promise,â Dillon said. âI woke her up, and I was just like, âYou will not have to pay for college.ââ
Heâs lived up to that promise ever since.
For Dillon, general manager Brian Gutekunstâs phone call was the culmination of what started as a modest goal. Dillon didnât envision being a blue-chip recruit the day he assured his mother not to worry about college tuition. A New London, Connecticut, native, Dillon thought a football scholarship to Central Connecticut State seemed attainable. If he was really fortunate, perhaps UConn.
Mom knew the odds. Her son had natural gifts, yes, but so did many other children. To separate himself, he would have to work harder. So she dug into the logistics.
âWeâre very much a family of action,â she said.
Gatewood-Campbell ran stairs with her son at the local high school stadium. She timed his splits with a stopwatch. She researched football drills online and learned how to assemble any associated equipment. Like the parachute her son tethered to his back when he ran sprints.
This was her sonâs dream. Mom would be the engine to make it possible.
âWe essentially grew up together,â Dillon said. âA lot of people have good relationships with their parents. Or, at least, Iâd hope so. But me and my mom, weâre as close as I feel like you can be.â
Behind each stride, Dillon thought of his mother, her grit, her determination.
âI saw her grind and scrape and do everything she could to provide for me,â Dillon said. âSo that was instilled in me. Just kind of my aggressiveness, the will to keep going. So on the field, I run with a chip on my shoulder.â
Dillon has come so far since the kid who promised his mother heâd take care of his own education, who ate lettuce with no dressing, then followed through on his goals. But heâs not done. At some point, Dillon said, heâd like to buy his mother a new house, a thank you for the years of selfless guidance.
He has another plan first.
âMy little sister,â Dillon said of 8-year-old Olivia, âhas the potential to do anything in this world.â
Heâll be there to make sure it happens.
He already told Mom heâs paying for her college.
I love the guy. Packer People.
Dillon's grandfather was quite the player himself:
In three seasons, two with Joe Theismann at quarterback, Gatewood became the Fighting Irishâs all-time leader in receptions and yards. His record 2,283 receiving yards stood 16 years until Tim Brown, the nine-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer, surpassed him. His 157 career receptions, still tied with Golden Tate for fifth all time, stood for 35 years.
Gatewood was the first African-American captain in Notre Dame history. He played two seasons with the New York Giants, who picked him in the fifth round of the 1972 draft. He peppered Dillon with stories that became folklore, like the time he caught a pass against Texas in the Cotton Bowl, injured his leg during the play, but finished to score a touchdown anyway.
Also interesting that in his first game AJ ran through Jaire Alexander.
LOL, this'll be the 2nd Dillon with the Pack that I've seen in my lifetime.
Well worth the 99ÂĒ.
Thanks Gsands.
watched a few highlight videos, one thing I will say, NOBODY wants to hit this guy. there will be a big push to get him to the second level, where a lot of bizness decisions are made...
@Gsands posted:...... "I run with a chip on my shoulder.â - Dillon
What ONE minute. Hold the phone! Isn't the "chip on the shoulder" thing AR's department????? What are they going to do - argue about whose chip is bigger? Seems like I did stuff like that in the 4th grade. If Dillon's chip proves to be bigger, does that mean AR has one more reason to leave??? Maybe Gutekunst hasn't thought this all the way thru????
There's a new chip on the block.
Can't even tell he had only one eye.
It was primarily a two dimensional game back then.
You could play it with only one good eye.
LOL, did you ever try to track a ball with one eye closed?
One thing I did notice in addition to Dillon's ability to find holes fast, is that the DBs chasing him aren't gaining ground. For such a big guy, that's noticeable.
Ron Dayne ran away from a number of defenders in college. In the pros, even the backups are as good as 85% of the best players they would have played against in college football.
There arenât many Purdueâs or Rutgers or Maryland or Indianaâs in the pros.
@Tschmack posted:Ron Dayne ran away from a number of defenders in college. In the pros, even the backups are as good as 85% of the best players they would have played against in college football.
There arenât many Purdueâs or Rutgers or Maryland or Indianaâs in the pros.
Dayne also ran behind this set of offensive linemen.
Mark Tauscher, Casey Rabach, Chris McIntosh, Bill Ferrario, Aaron Gibson, Al Johnson, Ben Johnson.
Most of the guys played in the NFL and a few of them were Pro Bowl level for years. They were good enough to open up holes against NFL players for many years in some cases. In college, opposing DL and LBs were so overmatched against these guys that when a guy of Ron Dayne's size got a running start and could see down the field to set guys up because he was running through gigantic holes, defenses had no chance.
@Tschmack posted:Ron Dayne ran away from a number of defenders in college. In the pros, even the backups are as good as 85% of the best players they would have played against in college football.
There arenât many Purdueâs or Rutgers or Maryland or Indianaâs in the pros.
I mean... they play Chicago and Minnesota twice every year, so...
Don't forget, too, that everyone knew BC was giving the rock to Dillon. They were stacking the box against him much more than any other college running back, and they still couldn't stop him.
Pound the rock, rotate fresh legs and gash a gassed D in the fourth quarter.
Easy peasy.
The run at 3:50 was good too - especially the way he ended that run carrying guys into the end zone.
Love the way he holds the ball... point up, against the body... thatâs where Jonathan Taylor was a risk.
That run against 'Cuse was his own doing. He didn't have a lot of help pushing him into the EZ. And the one at 3:50 against UConn was just a man against boys. 
@Fandame posted:That run against 'Cuse was his own doing. He didn't have a lot of help pushing him into the EZ. And the one at 3:50 against UConn was just a man against boys.
Dillon reminds me of how Eddie Lacy was a man amongst men in his first two seasons with the Packers. I loved how Lacy would carry defenders as he ran down the field. Dillon looks like he will do the same thing, for Green Bay! I hope we have a season!
