Memory Lane: Dillow无毛视频檚 football path went from AG to Penn State to WVU
Zack Dillow is a prime example of perseverance and hard work paying off in athletics.
Dillow was a standout on the Albert Gallatin football team during the 1990s.
Like many athletes Dillow got an early start in athletics, but it wasn无毛视频檛 football.
无毛视频淚 started in wrestling,无毛视频� Dillow reported. 无毛视频淚 started in first grade, my father was a football coach, but he also liked for us to wrestle. I had two older brothers and they were wrestling. I wrestled up until my junior year and my senior year I quit because I couldn无毛视频檛 keep the weight on.
无毛视频淚 wrestled heavyweight and I had some success. Starting in sixth grade I placed second in the state and then my sophomore year I won the section. My junior year I got hurt and I wasn无毛视频檛 able to wrestle. I messed my knee up real bad.
无毛视频淚 had Darwin Stalnaker as my coach and also Bibby Pavlovich and Joe Simon helped me. Those guys were great and I couldn无毛视频檛 have asked for better coaches. I will be honest I was very lucky my father got me into wrestling because it went hand in hand with football. It helped me out immensely with leverage, especially with being an undersized player especially in college.无毛视频�
Third grade is where Dillow got into football.
无毛视频淚 tried out in third grade and I absolutely hated it,无毛视频� Dillow stated. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 kind of funny, I really thought that it wasn无毛视频檛 a sport that I wanted to try out again. But once I got to middle school my brothers were playing and so I decided to play. Then it was just like something clicked and it became a love for me.无毛视频�
Dillow played four years in high school for Albert Gallatin.
无毛视频淚 was lucky,无毛视频� Dillow said. 无毛视频淚 really attribute a lot of it to my brothers Aaron and Darrin. I give them a lot of credit. I really looked up to those guys. I wanted to be like them and my dad Jim loved football.无毛视频�
Dillow was on Colonial teams that went 4-8 in 1994, 3-7 in 1995, 0-10 in 1996 and 2-8 in 1997.Dillow played center and middle linebacker.
无毛视频淲e didn无毛视频檛 have a lot of success,无毛视频� Dillow lamented. 无毛视频淚 think thank god I loved that sport so much. Losing can really put a damper on some things. It无毛视频檚 disheartening to be on those teams. I will say under Coach (Mike) Bosnic for three years we had a great offense. We had a really good offensive line and we had both my brothers, a guy named Ray Lynn, Mike Larew and Brandon Rotharmel. We also had Cornell Dotson at running back and the other running back was Turk Hayneswoth and they were like thunder and lightning. Unfortunately we were the swiss cheese defense.无毛视频�
The 6-foot-2, 265-pound Dillow garnered some honors in high school. He was a three-year All Conference performer and three years All County. He played in the Mason-Dixon All-Star football game and the National City All-Star football game.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 one of those things where you are not winning games, but you are winning some awards,无毛视频� Dillow said. 无毛视频淭hat was a win for me, at the end of the year when people are recognizing that. I wanted to make my dad proud and I wanted to make my family proud and my community proud.无毛视频�
When Dillow graduated from AG in 1998 he had a few college offers.
无毛视频淚 think I was what you call a tweener,无毛视频� Dillow offered. 无毛视频淚 heard they weren无毛视频檛 sure if I was a big slow linebacker or a smaller offensive lineman. I wasn无毛视频檛 recruited very heavily and it was looking like Division II, like IUP and Waynesburg. It was disheartening, and I was a standout at the Metro Camp. Penn State came about because my sister was a recruiting hostess at Penn State and I eventually linked up with Joe Sarra and I was a preferred walk-on. I spent two years up there and learned a lot of great things and it was great playing for Joe Paterno.无毛视频�
Dillow decided to leave Penn State.
无毛视频淚 decided to leave after they over-signed,无毛视频� Dillow explained. 无毛视频淚 had to move on without a scholarship and it was costing me too much money. Temple, Lock Haven, California and Pitt called me and it was a little dicey getting a release. They didn无毛视频檛 want me to go to Pitt. I wanted to play and decided to go to IUP. One evening Donnie Young from West Virginia called and thought it was a good opportunity to go to Morgantown. Mom and Dad believed in me and they said go. I sat out that year. I was blessed to have great coaches as I go from Paterno to Don Nehlen.
无毛视频淚 learned a lot from line coaches Bill Legg and Rick Trickett and I played two years for the Mountaineers. Nehlen left and Rich Rodriquez took over. One of Nehlen无毛视频檚 last things he did was give me a scholarship.无毛视频�
Dillow started at center on WVU squads that went 3-8 in 2001 and 9-4 in 2002 with a loss to Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl.
无毛视频淚 loved every minute at WVU,无毛视频� Dillow stated. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e been a blessed man. I had a great football career.无毛视频�
Dillow won the WVU Gridiron Gladiator Award in 2001 and 2002.
无毛视频淚 was a bit undersized as a lineman, but in my mind I thought I was the toughest guy on the field,无毛视频� Dillow said. 无毛视频淭hat was one of the best awards I ever received.无毛视频�
Dillow followed in his parents footsteps. They were both teachers. He taught for nine years and then in 2004-2005 he went to West Greene as an assistant principal and came back to Albert Gallatin a year and a half later. He is principal at Albert Gallatin South Middle School.
Now 44, Dillow resides near Point Marion with his wife of nine years Tiffany. They have three children, Seth, Delaney and Everly.
Looking back, Dillow is pleased with the way things have turned out in his life.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 a blessed man,无毛视频� Dillow stated. 无毛视频淔or me to achieve what I did and making a Division-I roster as a walk on and being good. I无毛视频檓 proud of what I did.无毛视频�
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.