Corey Dillon

Corey James Dillon (born October 24, 1974) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was also a member of the New England Patriots. Dillon played college football at the University of Washington after attending Garden City Community College and Dixie State College and was selected by the Bengals in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft.

Corey Dillon
No. 28
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1974-10-24) October 24, 1974
Seattle, Washington
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:Franklin
(Seattle, Washington)
College:Washington
NFL Draft:1997 / Round: 2 / Pick: 43
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Carries:2,618
Rushing yards:11,241
Rushing touchdowns:82
Player stats at NFL.com

Despite the overall poor performance of his team, Dillon emerged as a standout player during his seven years in Cincinnati, setting several franchise records and being named to three Pro Bowls. In his last three seasons, Dillon played for the Patriots, where he was named to a fourth Pro Bowl and contributed to New England's victory in Super Bowl XXXIX over the Philadelphia Eagles. He retired with 11,241 rushing yards, which currently ranks 20th among rushing yards leaders in the NFL.

High school career

Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Dillon attended Franklin High School, where he teamed with his cousin, Ed Raiford, to form one of the state's all-time twosomes for the Quakers football team. Dillon and Raiford garnered Parade, USA, Best In The West and Tom Flemming All-American awards. Both were two-sport standouts, Raiford also starred as an All-State basketball player while Dillon starred in baseball. An excellent baseball catcher, Dillon garnered All-Metro honors, and was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 1993 Major League Baseball draft.

College career

Dillon played junior college football as a freshman at Garden City Community College in Kansas, and rushed for 1165 yards and 16 TDs in 1994. The following year, he played for Dixie State College in St. George, Utah, and rushed for 1899 yards and 20 TDs in 279 attempts.[1] Dillon was chosen JC Offensive Back of the Year by College Sports magazine.

At the University of Washington in Seattle, he was known for using a very aggressive and punishing style of running. Dillon set the team all-time single-season records for rushing yards (1,695 yards) and touchdowns scored (24) in 1996. In the first quarter against San Jose State in mid-November, Dillon rushed for 222 yards and caught an 83-yard touchdown pass, setting NCAA records for both rushing yards and all-purpose yards (305) in one quarter.[2] Dillon did not re-enter the game as the Huskies were comfortably ahead 25–0 by the end of the first quarter on a cold and rainy afternoon. The Dawgs led 43–3 at the half and won 53–10.[2]

In the 1996 Holiday Bowl against Colorado, Dillon rushed for 140 yards and added 2 more touchdowns to his regular-season total of 23. He scored 5 TDs in 41–21 conquest of UCLA, earning Sports Illustrated National Player of the Week honors as he rushed for 145 yards and added 53 yards in receptions.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Dillon in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft, the 43rd overall pick. During his first season in 1997, Dillon rushed 39 times for 246 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 41–14 win over the Tennessee Oilers, breaking Jim Brown's rookie single-game record that had stood for 40 years.[3] That game remains a Bengals rookie record for carries, yards, and touchdowns, and franchise record for touchdowns.[4] His 1,129 yards that season is also still a Bengals rookie record. For six seasons, Dillon was one of the few bright spots on otherwise struggling Bengals teams. Dillon voiced his frustrations with the team and owner Mike Brown, stating "we will never win with the Brown family in Cincinnati," after a 2001 game. From 1997 to 2002, he rushed for over 1,000 yards each year, and made the Pro Bowl 3 times from 1999 to 2001. On October 22, 2000, Dillon set an NFL record for most yards rushed in one game (278 yards) against the Denver Broncos, breaking Walter Payton's single-game mark of 275 yards set in 1977.[lower-alpha 1] That record has since been broken by Jamal Lewis (295 yards) on September 14, 2003, and Adrian Peterson (296 yards) on November 4, 2007. Dillon's mark remains a franchise record for yards and yards-per-carry (12.64).

In 2003, Dillon only rushed for 541 yards due to injury.

New England Patriots

In 2004, Dillon was traded to the New England Patriots for a second-round pick. In the 2004 season, Dillon set career highs and franchise records with 1,635 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. He was a major factor in the Patriots' win over the Indianapolis Colts in New England's first playoff game that season, rushing for 144 yards and catching 5 passes for 17 yards. New England won its third Super Bowl, due in no small part to the running game built around Dillon. He was the top rusher of Super Bowl XXXIX with 75 rushing yards and a touchdown, while also catching 3 passes for 31 yards, for 106 total yards. Overall, Dillon rushed for a total of 292 yards, caught 9 passes for 53 yards, and scored 2 touchdowns in New England's 3 postseason games.

In 2005, while injury problems plagued Dillon and he was not able to duplicate his stats from 2004, he remained a major contributor to the team, rushing for 733 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games. The Patriots used Dillon more frequently as a pass receiver, with 23 receptions for 193 yards and a touchdown, which was more receiving yards than he had gained in his past 2 seasons combined.

In the 2006 season, Dillon began sharing the team's rushing duties with rookie running back Laurence Maroney. With the retirement of Curtis Martin, he spent his final year as the NFL's active leader in career rushing yards. He finished the year with 812 rushing yards and a career-high 13 touchdowns, tied him for third in the league that season.

Retirement

The Patriots released Dillon on March 2, 2007. Dillon subsequently told the Boston Globe in August that he would retire from the NFL. A month later, Dillon admitted to considering a comeback with the Patriots with the season-ending injury to RB Sammy Morris, but ultimately remained retired.[6]

NFL career statistics
Year Team GP Rushing Receiving
AttYdsAvgLngTDFumLostRecYdsAvgLngTD
1997CIN 162331,1294.8711010272569.6280
1998CIN 152621,1304.366422281786.4411
1999CIN 152631,2004.650532312909.4231
2000CIN 163151,4354.680743181588.8310
2001CIN 163401,3153.9961053342286.7173
2002CIN 163141,3114.267752432986.9190
2003CIN 131385413.93920011716.5140
2004NE 153451,6354.7441243151036.9201
2005NE 122097333.5291211221818.2251
2006NE 161998124.1501322151479.8520
Career1502,61811,2414.3968227182441,9137.8527

[7]

Personal life

Dillon has three daughters with his ex-wife, who filed for divorce in April 2010.[8]

Before his NFL career, Dillon was convicted twice for assaulting women, and as a juvenile was linked to drug dealing.[9]

Dillon was arrested in March 1998 in Seattle for investigation of drunken driving. He was later charged with driving under the influence, negligent driving and driving with a suspended license. In June 1998, he pleaded guilty to lesser charges of negligent driving and driving with a suspended license.[10]

On August 26, 2000, Dillon allegedly hit his 23-year-old wife during an argument in a car while she was driving near the couple's home. His wife called police after they returned home. When officers arrived, they found Dillon's wife in front of the house, bleeding from the mouth. Dillon was in the driveway, police said. He was arrested for investigation of fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor.[10]

Dillon was arrested on May 1, 2010 on suspicion of assaulting his wife during an argument at their Southern California home. According to the Los Angeles County sheriff's office, deputies went to Dillon's Calabasas home after his wife, Desiree Antoine-Dillon, called 911. The sheriff's office says the couple argued over a pending divorce and child custody issues and she had minor injuries. He was booked and released on $50,000 bail.[11]

See also

Notes
  1. Almost a year earlier, one month after Payton's death, coach Bruce Coslet took Dillon out of a 44–28 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the third quarter, at a point in the game in which he seemed to be on pace to break Payton's record long before game's end. Coslet explained to reporters afterward that Payton had set that record in a 10–7 win.[5]

References
  1. "Hall of Fame". dixieathletics.com. Dixie State Athletics. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  2. "A quarter of Dillon too much". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. November 17, 1996. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  3. "FOOTBALL: N.F.L.; Dillon Runs Over Oilers". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 5, 1997. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  4. As of 2017 off-season.
  5. King, Peter (January 10, 2000). "Inside the NFL". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  6. "Fantasy Football Breaking News – Report: Corey Dillon could return to Patriots". Rotoworld.com. November 2, 2007. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  7. "Corey Dillon Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  8. "Corey Dillon -- DUI and Divorce Trouble", TMZ.com, April 21, 2010.
  9. "Bill Belichick's Bad-Boy Club", bostonherald.com, July 2, 2013.
  10. "Dillon runs into more trouble with law", seattletimes.com, August 29, 2000.
  11. "Dillon booked, released on $50K bail", espn.com, May 3, 2010.
Records
Preceded by
Walter Payton		 NFL single-game rushing record
October 22, 2000 – September 14, 2003		 Succeeded by
Jamal Lewis
Preceded by
Jim Brown		 NFL rookie single-game rushing record
December 4, 1997 – December 3, 2000		 Succeeded by
Mike Anderson
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