Heart and Soul
By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – DeeJay Dallas has had more than a few memorable moments at Miami.
He scored two rushing touchdowns in a blowout win over Notre Dame as a freshman. A year later, his rain-soaked 83-yard scoring run against Duke that stands as the sixth-longest rush from scrimmage in school history put him in the Hurricanes’ record book. And his 65-yard punt return that went for a touchdown against Pittsburgh last November showed off not only his athleticism and versatility, but his ability to change a game’s momentum with one electric play.
But as unforgettable as his gameday highlights have been, it was a compliment paid to him by one of Miami’s greats that nearly left the high-energy running back at a loss for words.
“Not too long ago, Michael Irvin – one of the greatest players to ever set foot on Greentree and shoot, to play ball ever – came up to me and told me I could be like those guys and play on those teams,” Dallas said, gesturing at the banners in the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility that honor Miami’s All-Americans and national championship teams. “I try not to look for validation from other people, but that kind of validation from one of the greats meant a lot. I was a little starstruck because to say I could play with the ’83 or ’87 teams, I mean, in the 1980s this place was like the Mecca of football.”
These days, things are different. Miami has endured its share of ups and downs to start the season. But for his part, Dallas is determined to do what he can to try and help the Hurricanes regain their spot among college football’s elite programs.
In his first year as a starter, Dallas has totaled 472 yards and scored a team-high six touchdowns. His average of 78.7 yards per game ranks sixth among ACC running backs, with his average of 6.74 yards per carry ranking third in the league behind just Wake Forest’s Kenneth Walker III and Clemson’s Travis Etienne.
Statistically, he’s been a spark for the Hurricanes. But it’s not just his ability to run the ball that’s earned the junior recognition as the “heart and soul” of the Hurricanes’ offense.
“He cares so much about the Miami Hurricanes and always has, but he’s got such an optimistic personality, which has been a little bit of one of the tenets of our trying to reprogram ourselves,” head coach Manny Diaz said. “When things don’t go well, we don’t want to be a team that gets sad and quits. We want to believe something good is going to happen. We say that all the time and it feels like DeeJay always has that mentality, that something good’s about to happen. … There’s no question, absolutely no doubt he’s one of our ‘heart and soul’ guys if not the heart and soul. The role he plays for us, the way he runs the football inspires everybody on the entire football team and he’s done it when we’ve needed it the most.”
Added tight end Brevin Jordan, “DeeJay’s somebody you really want on your team. He puts the team first, always. He puts up amazing stats, but he comes in the locker room and he’s always smiling and playing around with guys. He never comes in and has down days. He really just gels the whole offense together, even in the huddle. He’s always motivating us.”
Dallas’ willingness to speak up, to inspire, and to motivate has been on display from the moment the Brunswick, Georgia announced his intentions to play at Miami in May 2016.
He became an ambassador of sorts for the Hurricanes on social media, encouraging other top prospects to consider joining him in Coral Gables, while building a relationship with the Miami fan base, which quickly embraced him, too.
For Dallas, who spent many a childhood summer in South Florida with his family, falling in love with the Hurricanes and playmakers like Sean Taylor and Ed Reed was easy. Now, he wants to make sure his teammates are as inspired as he is to continue building up the program that’s meant so much to him.
“I want to be the guy that they see and they say, ‘DeeJay’s good. We’re going to be good.’ I want them to see that and take that in. And when I play, I want them to play with that same fire. I want them to play with that same energy,” Dallas said. “I use my little brother as an example. My brother is a young kid and young kids are real malleable. They take in everything. When I came in, I was taking in how older guys like Braxton [Berrios] and Chris Herndon and Malik [Rosier] and Ahmmon [Richards] acted. I took all of that in and applied to myself. That’s what I’m trying to do for our young guys now.”
There is someone else Dallas wants to be an example to – his three-month old son, DeeJay, whom he calls by his middle name “Nova” because he says his son gave him a new beginning.
When he’s not at practice, conditioning or in class, Dallas is home with his son, changing diapers and trying to squeeze in some rest when he can. And he says the experience of becoming a father has given him a whole new motivation to be the best he can be, on and off the field.
“People ask me how becoming a father has changed me, but it’s not really a change you can feel. It just happens,” Dallas said. “All of my friends are like, ‘He’s got that dad strength now’ and it’s true. It’s like a natural switch. You’ve got responsibilities and this is the way you can make your responsibilities easier. So you put all of your energy into this one thing and at the end of the day, you can say you gave it your all. You can look at your child and say, ‘I did everything I could.’ That’s what it’s all about.”
