Ask any Southeast Georgia football fan about Glynn Academy quarterback Deejay Dallas, and you’ll hear that he is an outstanding player with great speed and a great future ahead of him as a four-star recruit at the University of Miami. But the real Deejay Dallas is more than a hard-hitting, fast-moving player who works on Xs and Os all the time. He is a polite, big-hearted young man who cares about his family and shows concern for all of Earth’s creatures.
“I don’t want people to think of me as just a football player,” Dallas said. “I like animals. That’s a big deal to me. I want to be a veterinarian. I feel that football is going to put me in a place where I can become a vet.” Dallas’ big smile reveals braces on his teeth, reminding you that this unbelievably talented football player is still young, but his plans for the future reveal that he has a good head on his shoulders. An all-region and all-state player, Dallas has scored big touchdowns in big games, but he claims the coolest thing he has ever done is to ride Universal Studios Orlando’s Rip Ride Rockit more than a dozen times. “I went to Universal one time and rode their biggest roller coaster like 16 times in a row,” Dallas said. “That was fun.”
Unfortunately, recruiting hasn’t been all fun. The process has been long and arduous, and Dallas traveled a lot of miles before choosing the college he wants to attend. Dallas admits that the recruiting process has been difficult at times and that he has learned not to get his feelings involved. He constantly reminds himself that college football recruiting is a business. He visited more than 20 campuses trying to decide. Then, when he made his decision, everything changed when the coach was fired. He was prepared to travel north to Athens where he had verbally committed to the Dogs before his junior year. Then, coach Mark Richt was fired from Georgia, leaving Dallas unsure of his next move.
The University of Miami was not even on Dallas’ radar when the recruiting process began. “I was leaning more toward the west coast and Oregon or UCLA,” Dallas said. He was ready to take his mother “West Coast” on a visit when newly hired University of Miami coach Mark Richt started hiring his staff, and Dallas began to take notice. “That just put me over the edge,” Dallas said. Now he speaks with his future college coach at least once per week or whenever Richt has free time.
Dallas has had a lot of help getting where he is. He credits his tutor, coaches, and a former University of Pittsburgh quarterback for helping him. “A big mentor in my process of becoming a quarterback and becoming a better man has been Greg Cross, who played quarterback at GA (Glynn Academy),” Dallas said. “He has been a big part of my life.”
During school hours, Dallas is a quiet leader: He’s a member of the student council with a 3.6 GPA. On the field, he can score from anywhere and seems especially adept at turning nothing into something very quickly. For the past four years, Glynn Academy’s Dallas has electrified crowds at Glynn County Stadium with his running ability, often turning losses into big gains and touchdowns. Dallas will soon take his talents south to play for the University of Miami Hurricanes, where players such as Michael Irvin, Reggie Wayne, and Santana Moss made their marks before becoming NFL legends. With an early high school graduation planned for December, Dallas will leave Brunswick and enroll in classes at “The U” in January so he can begin learning Richt’s playbook and methods. Dallas is a playmaker on both sides of the ball. The all-around athlete stands just half-an-inch over six feet, weighs 194 pounds, and runs a 4.54 40-yard dash. He was shifted to quarterback for coach Rocky Hidalgo’s Red Terrors mid-way through last season and led Glynn Academy on a 10-game winning streak that ended in the state championship game. In college, he will play wherever Richt wants him. The discussion of how he will be used by the Hurricanes has centered around a former University of Georgia athlete who played for Richt. Miami is talking about doing something like Richt did with Brandon Boykin at Georgia, rotating him as a defensive back, receiver, and safety. “They just told me to come in in tip-top shape, and it will be a reality for me,” Dallas said.
After going through the recruiting process himself the past four years, Dallas has offered words of advice to his teammates who are looking to play college football one day. “I just tell them to grind and just keep your head down, and everything will fall into place,” Dallas said. Hidalgo called Dallas a great athlete who can change the game at any moment. “He is a great competitor who challenges himself and his teammates to push beyond their boundaries,” Hidalgo said.
After accomplishing so much during his high school career, it isn’t always easy to maintain a level head while being recruited, but remembering where he is from has helped Dallas stay focused. “At first in the recruiting process I was overlooked a lot, and then as it got more in depth, then people started finding me,” Dallas said. “Coach Richt was one of the first to find me, so I just remember at one point I didn’t have any offers; at one point I wasn’t talked about. Now I just have to keep that same mindset.”
Glynn Academy made it to the state quarterfinals in Dallas’ sophomore year and all the way to the championship game last year with Dallas at quarterback. His ultimate goal before graduation is to win a state football championship. Last season the Red Terrors came close to winning it all, falling 10-6 to Allatoona in the final at the Georgia Dome. “Last year we got close and came up short by four points, and this year we are shooting for the stars,” Dallas said.
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Not Just a Football Player
Written by Rob Asbell
Photo by Michael Brinson
