Healthy Dillon hopes to be leader for Eagles
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The cancellation of Boston College’s First Responder Bowl game against Boise State after just 10 minutes of play last December in Dallas left both teams disappointed.
But as Eagles coach Steve Addazio points out, there was at least one silver lining to be found amidst all those dark storm clouds.
It came on a 19-yard touchdown run by A.J. Dillon just before play was suspended.
After being hobbled by a nagging ankle injury that slowed him for most of the second half of the season, Dillon’s impressive burst of speed and athleticism was a positive reminder of how dominant he can be when running at 100 percent.
“He ran down the field like a buzzsaw,” Addazio said of his star running back, who still managed to finish fourth in the ACC in rushing with 1,108 yards despite missing two games and playing at a diminished capacity in several others.
Although the touchdown and the four other carries Dillon received against Boise officially never happened, at least statistically, Addazio is hoping the abbreviated performance in that game is a sign of things to come as Dillon and the Eagles begin preparations for the 2019 season.
“He’s healthy now and is in the best physical condition,” Addazio said Wednesday at the ACC’s annual football kickoff event. “He is set to have one heck of a year. He had over 1,000 yards last year, but he would have had over 2,000 had he not gotten hurt.”
That’s a numerical goal Dillon might have set for himself a year ago at this time. His injury, however, has helped give him a different perspective on what he considers important.
He still has high expectations for himself. It’s just that now instead of chasing numbers as he admittedly has in the past, the 6-foot, 250-pound junior is more focused on team success than individual achievement.
“You’re not invincible in this game,” he said. “Anything can happen so I’m just focusing on the best I can be this year.
“My main goal is right now is winning the ACC championship. I want to have as many wins as we can as a team and go from there. I don’t have a mark for how many yards, because if my team needs me to run down the clock in the fourth quarter and I’m getting a bunch of 1-yard gains, I’m happy with that. I’m just worried about what Ihavetodotogetmyteam the win.”
Dillion first tweaked his left ankle in a loss at Purdue on Sept. 22 and aggravated the injury the following week against Temple. He missed the next two games, against ACC rivals North Carolina State and Louisville, but was never completely healthy again until those five carries in Dallas.
It was a source of frustration for Dillon, especially as the Eagles were losing their final three games, to watch a promising start devolve into a third straight seven-win season.
“It was my first time dealing with an injury that prevented me from being myself,” he said. “A lot of my game is based on being explosive, making that one cut and being able to get to my top speed. With that injury, it was tough making those cuts. It was tough for me.”
Now that he’s back, Dillon isn’t satisfied with being as good as ever. He spent much of his offseason working on skills he said needed improvement.
With the continued development of quarterback Anthony Brown and the return of explosive receiver Kobay White, that means concentrating on becoming better at pass blocking and catching the ball out of the backfield.
“I want to be more of a leader,” he said. “I’ve been working on strength and conditioning, in the film room just trying to understand the game more. I want to be somebody that from first down to fourth down, from the first quarter to overtime, I’m dependable in every situation.”