Professional Mindset Behind Early Success of Seahawks Rookie RB DeeJay Dallas
After a trio of injuries decimated the Seahawks’ running back corps late last season, general manager John Schneider and his staff brought in some backfield reinforcements over the summer, including the additions of veteran Carlos Hyde and fourth-round pick DeeJay Dallas.
Selected with Seattle’s second of two picks during the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Dallas hasn’t wasted any time making a strong first impression during training camp. As a result, he has already received a ton of praise from coach Pete Carroll, Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson, and running back Chris Carson.
Not trying to get ahead of himself, the 5-foot-10 running back admitted he’s been trying to take things one day at a time. Utilizing one of his biggest takeaways from his three seasons at Miami, the 21-year old has been relying on his professional mindset, hopeful it will continue helping him adjust to the next level of competition.
“I just try to be a pro, I came out early from Miami and at Miami they just always preach to us ‘be a pro,’ be a pro with all of this stuff that I was getting in college and then I carried that into the actual pros,” Dallas explained in a Zoom press conference on Wednesday. “So I just try to approach every day, be a pro, take every day one day at a time and my big thing for me, my saying and the saying I live by is ‘make the bad days look good and make the good days look great’ and I just try to live by that.”
Not taking anything for granted, Dallas has been absorbing as much information as possible during practices and film sessions, as he hopes to make a seamless transition to the NFL. Citing the lack of discipline from college defenses, the former Hurricane has quickly realized the running lanes close a lot quicker in the pros compared to the collegiate level, especially when playing against Pro Bowlers Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright.
Along with his talents on the ground, the Georgia native can also serve as a reliable receiver, as he owns an extensive background as a former pass catcher and quarterback as well. Referencing his relationship with Miami’s receivers coach Ron Dugans, the exciting young running back credited his success in the passing game to his former coach and explained how he learned about becoming a receiver.
“I had a great receivers coach when I was at Miami, coach Ron Dugans. He just molded me into what he was when he played at Florida State,” Dallas described. “So just having him teach me the ins and outs of being a receiver, I just kind of attributed to all those times that coach Dugans told me to go get on the jugs. He used to force me to get on the jugs, 100 tennis balls a day, 100 footballs a day. So I guess you can attribute that to good coaching and just good coaching from that guy.”
Over Dallas’ three seasons with the Hurricanes, he appeared in 33 games, producing 1,527 rushing yards, 17 rushing touchdowns, 317 receiving yards, and a pair of touchdown catches. Also starring on special teams, he returned 20 kickoffs for 420 yards and 11 punts for 191 yards along with a touchdown.
With Carson and Hyde occupying the majority of the snaps on offense, Dallas will likely be limited to a special teams role this season, but there’s a chance he could occasionally be utilized as a third-down back. Reuniting with his former college teammate Travis Homer has helped the fourth-round pick transition to Seattle and has also acted as a leader to him throughout this process.
“Having Travis [Homer] around is good, a lot of rookies go to places where they don’t know people. I was nervous but I wasn’t too nervous because I had my boy and Travis is like my brother,” Dallas discussed.
“I learned a lot from him and just coming up to Seattle just learning about the area and learning from Bellevue to Newcastle and us just driving around and him showing me the city. We have fun outside of ball, we have fun while we’re playing ball and having him is a true blessing.”
