’27 RB left MS listed among the top three (3) at his position in KY according to FBU
Tristin Dillard was born to carry a football. He has played it at all of the levels of football at which he has competed to date. His brothers played RB. His uncle (Mack Dillard) was a star RB for the Colonels of Christian County in his day. If you believe RBs are born and not taught, and we have seen very good proof of this, Tristin Dillard is the running-back for whom your heart has been pining. He is built low to the ground, hard to find in an offensive backfield, has plenty of speed, burst, and explosion, and has excelled at the position since first playing there in the “Bud Hudson Junior Pro League.” Dillard is an accomplished second and third level defender too. This is a tremendous add for the Colonels in the midst of a rebuild.
HB Lyon, Chief Scout, KPGFootball
Hopkinsville, KY: If we had run this article a year ago, it would have likely been a watershed, “stop the presses” moment around the commonwealth. After all, Tristin Dillard was consistently ranked among the top three (3) RBs in the ’27-class and had before competed on Kentucky’s FBU Select all-star team.
We at KPGFootball guarantee you Al Popadines, above tagged to this article (@AlPopsFootball), one of the nation’s foremost evaluators of football talent, knows exactly who Tristin Dillard both is and has been throughout his competitive football career to date.
Of course, the FBU Select Team was then; what about now?
Dillard is coming off his freshman year where he competed in Kentucky 4A. He has transferred to a new school and is set to compete, as a sophomore, in Kentucky 6A and for a new team.
The freshman year is one which often dampens the enthusiasm for most talent entering high school for all but the brightest of stars and the most knowledgeable of onlookers. For the sophisticated scouts, who know what they are seeing, Dillard was among the top freshman around the commonwealth in ’23.
Dillard got run in ten (10) varsity games, playing 4A football, at the running-back position with some spot duty at LB. Dillard gained 4.36-yards a carry, was the team’s fourth leading rusher, and contributed a handful of tackles, together with a pair of TFLs (2). There is nothing wrong with that level of varsity production from a player competing at the 4A level in the Bluegrass as a frosh.
Sure there are freshmen running backs who come close to the thousand-yard plateau in their first year; but, few and far between. Point is, many freshmen would have been thrilled to impact the team as much as Dillard did over the course of their inaugural, high school season.
Many freshmen would have been thrilled to impact the team as much as Dillard did over the course of their inaugural, high school season…
Friday Night Fletch
There is nothing particularly freshman about Dillard’s skills nor his numbers. The 5’7,” 170-pounder squats close to 400-pounds (380 to be exact), benches just shy of two-bills (190), and power cleans a nifty two-bucks, ten (210). The speedster competes in track & field, running the 100-meter, the 200-meter, the 4X100 relay, and the 4X400 relay.
Can’t tell you for sure what his 40-yard dash nor his pro-agility shuttle times are. We can tell you he routinely gains the corner on sweeps and never seems to get caught from behind in the open field, for whatever that is worth.
Tremendous growth often occurs between a freshman and sophomore year. We can assure the reader there is every reason to believe, and we are forecasting, this running-back is ready for liftoff on the high school football scene this coming Fall.
We are calling it now. We believe Tristin Dillard will be a 1,200-plus rusher with 12 or more rushing TDs this coming Fall for the Colonels. How’s that for an offseason pickup?
The KHSAA found sufficient circumstances to support Dillard’s immediate eligibility, under Bylaw 6, this coming Fall. This means we will see Dillard compete for the starter’s berth in the Christian County backfield for new coach Ethan Atchley. Getting this player ruled eligible was a tremendous boon for Coach Atchley’s troops with the season roughly 49 days from kick-off.
Atchley has an impressive track record coaching both football and RBs
Friday Night Fletch
Atchley has an impressive track record coaching both football and running backs. Atchley confirms he has gone into seasons with less talent than what will take the field for his Colonels, on August 23, 2024, against Warren East High in Bowling Green, Kentucky at the J. Allen Builders Bowl.
What can the Colonels expect from their rising sophomore RB? They can expect a young player with high school elite athleticism and speed who knows how to play the position. They can expect a workhorse who doesn’t shy away from doing the work and runs behind his pads. They can expect an academician who gets it done in the classroom (4.0 GPA) as well as on the football field. They can expect a polished player with a high Football IQ.
What is Dillard getting in the bargain? Well, he will get an opportunity to be the featured back in an offense coordinated by a head coach and staff well known, and highly successful, at the HS level regardless of classification. He will have plays well schemed and drawn for him putting him in places where he may expect to succeed. Dillard will see favorable personnel matchups giving him every opportunity to thrive and demonstrate his immense ability.
What can the Colonel fans expect? They can expect a vastly superior product than what they have watched over the last few years. The on-field product will be reminiscent to some of past Colonel squads.
The Colonels will run the heck out of it. Tristin Dillard will be a key component of that attack.
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
If you enjoyed this article and wish to gain full-access to the site, then subscribe monthly to Kentucky Prep Gridiron by following the prompts!
© The information contained on this site is the copyrighted intellectual property of KPGFootball. Any unauthorized dissemination of this material without the author’s express written consent is strictly prohibited!
Leave a Reply