A person who has many skills and is genuinely good in all of those can be considered to be a renaissance man. There are many men (and women) that accurately fit this description as adults, but it’s slightly tougher to find kids that embody that spirit of wanting to be as all-knowing as possible and as early as possible in life in this day and age with the same accuracy. They certainly do exist among the younger populations as I’ve seen first-hand, but they are becoming harder to find nowadays due to the increased demands of our world to be really good at one or a few things versus better than average at virtually anything you have in front of you.
I can tell you one area (although with a more-than-slightly-biased opinion of course) that doesn’t lack for these types of young people and their approaches to life and football is the Tampa Bay Area. It is an embarrassment of riches from what I’ve seen and yet another example of this is Boca Ciega’s Brandon Dillard. Brandon is a Class of 2013 standout for the Pirates standing at 6-2, 315lbs. having only played Varsity football for 2 years. In that short amount of time however, the young man has attracted attention from Big Ten Schools like Wisconsin and Purdue, as well as a few from south of the Mason-Dixon like NC State out of the ACC.
One thing I always wonder is if the person on the other end of the line is going to provide enough information to satisfy the angle of the assignment, but I haven’t had to worry about going back and transcribing 35 minutes of audio because I’ve gotten lost in conversation with someone that is genuinely excited by the challenge and ready to accept it in order to lead his peers into something greater for themselves yet; until now. From his opinions about why the south county teams can’t seem to get past the hurdle into the state rounds, to his reflections on the season and his beginnings only two seasons ago, to his choices for hobbies, Dillard is extremely knowledgeable, almost paternal in his responses. Very much like an old soul.
Dillard now takes the time to reflect on the short past, as well as the present and short-term/long-term goals for his team and his own personal future. Dillard’s older brother Denzal is also a junior on the team and plays RB. Here are some of the highlights of our conversation on pretty much all things Pinellas Football, his experiences thus far and his dreams on and off the field.
“Well spring is going great for me and my team. We have been strong in the weight room and solid in the field. We are starting to put together something very nice. As of now though, the skilled guys are playing PAL 7on7 League and the big boys up front, we are just getting in good work and competing in some of the Big Man Challenges around the Bay Area.”
The Pirates were balanced in their offensive output, but only good for 15th out of 25 teams in Pinellas with 1,325 yards rushing and 1,317 passing and the team only averaged 19 points per game in scoring offense. His Brother Denzal, rushed 34 times for 198 yards. That was something that Dillard mentioned right away. I asked him what it’s like being a member of a family that’s synonymous was speed, but instead creating the holes for that speed instead of doing the running himself. Brandon knew it wouldn’t be easy when he signed up for it, but it was certainly an eye-opener to say the least.
“I think my biggest struggle was having to block for my older brother Denzal, it was hard because I was totally new to football and I was put on the Varsity team my freshman year and blocking for my brother isn’t easy (he laughs). He is a very elusive back and can out run me by miles, but as I got used to it, I became more accustomed to his running style and knew I had to make something happen not just for us but the team.”
More importantly, it’s his second obstacle mentioned that begins to put Dillard’s mental approach on display a little better and the window to the perspective that’s opened up. I start to realize at this point that he isn’t someone that simply said one day, “gee, I’m big enough, I think I’ll go play football”, snapped his fingers and a promising career magically appeared. Dillard’s candidness in his response is refreshing.
“My second hardest thing was actually getting in shape and learning how to do everything. It was hard because coming into high school I had NEVER played a football a day in my life because I was always overweight. When I went out for the team during the summer of my 9th grade year everyone expected a lot from me because I was a huge 15 year-old and I had to help fill in the holes wherever needed; so I just took on the duty of being a freshman offensive lineman on the Varsity level and I didn’t expect Coach Thomas to hold ANY pity against me and OH MY! He treated me as if I had been playing for 10 years.”
Dillard is referring to former Head Coach Stevie Thomas who oversaw Dillard’s initial year of development. The Pirates went 4-6 that season and have put together consecutive 4-6 seasons, but the replacement of Thomas with Antez Brinson this past has not altered Dillard’s approach whatsoever. “I think it’s been good. Coach Brinson and his coaching staff is great, Coach Thomas also had a wonderful coaching staff. Both are great coaches and I love both coaches, they both make sure that we have the best things to give us the power and knowledge to win.”
Dillard sounds anxious to get his teammates focused on to the here and now and move on from the season that could have been for the Pirates. Pretty easy to get caught up in hyperbole, but it’s not a façade with Brandon. You can unequivocally feel his sincerity in his viewpoint regarding his beloved Bogie Program.
“We are just trying to put together a machine that’s unstoppable and I believe my team can do it. We have the best coaching staff that the game has to offer. We just have to stay humble but hungry and we will make it. We just look back on the small things that sunk the Pirate Ship last year and we change that. As we say during workouts, “CAN’T WORK, CAN’T EAT!” and as we breakdown we never break on “Me” or “I” we as a unit break on “WE”.”
Dillard obviously understands that this can’t be a 15 minutes of fame sort of experience for the sake of Boca Ciega’s Football Program and its future members and supporters either.
“We are not trying to build a team, more like a program because teams come and go, programs stay for a while. I just want to help be a part of the foundation when we come back home from college and see it continue for generations. We have to establish the same routines that the winning programs have. Even the ones that don’t win it all or even all the time still have routines created by the coaching staffs. Monday (to me) is more important than Friday. A good week of practice is going to take you right into the game without a doubt in my point of view.”
With all of the South Pinellas talent that’s mentioned daily between the different outlets, and keeping in-line with the recent research regarding the south county’s inferior team results in comparison to their neighbors north of Gandy/Park, I asked Dillard what he thought might explain some of the results since 2000 and he had this to say:
“I think the north county does better because the schools are a little more spread out than in the south. If you come down to the south there are like 5-6 schools in one area basically. We have Bogie, Lakewood, St. Pete, Northeast, and Dixie (Hollins) all right here. The kids usually all split up and what you might see is one team or program that is all power, and another all speed. Then you have at least one school where there is nothing. Go back up north and you see that those players have many years of chemistry and have been playing together since Flag Football.
Boca Ciega was 4-1 vs. south county teams with wins vs. Osceola, Seminole, Northeast and Dixie Hollins, but lost to St. Petersburg. The Pirates didn’t play Lakewood or Gibbs this season. Their biggest issue was their district and non-district schedule within Pinellas. They went 0-4 vs. north county teams (Countryside, Largo, Tarpon Springs and Pinellas Park) losing by an average of 21 points per game. The records of the other teams in the area reflect some of the parity that Dillard refers to however. Boca Ciega is sixth in total wins and losses since 2000 within the South Pinellas schools, but literally a game or two within Gibbs, Lakewood, Dixie Hollins and St. Petersburg in their overall records.
So where does the qualification for the “renaissance” label begin and end? In addition to his affinity for Math and Reading, as well as his ability to be Philosophical and step outside of his own self to see the situation for its bigger picture, Brandon has an aspiration to please the stomachs of his family, fans and friends as well as their eyes.
“I really love to cook. I love to watch all the shows on Food Network and especially the Neely’s.” The Neely’s are known for their down home Southern Cooking that’s part Johnson’s Market in Plant City and Grams Kitchen in DeLand which is basically the kind of food that puts a smile on your face and warmth in your soul. Something that Dillard plans on providing on the gridiron until he can’t anymore and then it’s time to open up a restaurant.
“Man, there’s no better feeling than being able to go into the kitchen, come out and be able to put something together for your family and friends and bring them together. That’s what it’s all about.”