AJ Dillon

Early life

Dillon grew up in Connecticut. While on the high school football team at New London High School as a freshman, Dillon played sparingly. At that point, he was recruited to Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts, a private boarding school. Dillon played four years at Lawrence and was clearly the focus of the team's offense by his second year when he rushed for 1321 yards and 21 touchdowns while also starting at linebacker. As a junior, he rushed for 1,887 yards and 26 touchdowns. As a senior, he played in only four games due to a broken leg but still rushed for 635 yards with 12 touchdowns. He ran a 4.56 40-yard dash and was named MVP of Nike's Opening. Dillon originally committed to the University of Michigan to play college football but eventually flipped his commitment and signed with Boston College.

2017 season

In his collegiate debut, Dillon rushed five times for 20 yards against Northern Illinois. In the Eagles' fourth game, Dillon had his first collegiate touchdown against Clemson on the road. In the following game, against Central Michigan, he had 25 carries for 120 rushing yards and one touchdown. On October 14, in a road victory over Louisville, he had a breakout game with 29 carries for 272 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. On October 27, in a win over Florida State, he had 33 carries for 149 yards and a touchdown. In the following game, against North Carolina State, he had 36 carries for 196 yards and one touchdown. One week later, he had 24 carries for 200 yards and two touchdowns against Connecticut. In the following game, in a road victory over Syracuse, he had 23 carries for 193 yards and three touchdowns. In the Pinstripe Bowl against Iowa, he had 32 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown in the 27–20 loss. As a freshman at Boston College in 2017, Dillon played in all 13 games and rushed for a freshman school record 1,589 yards on 300 carries with 14 touchdowns. He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rookie of the Year.

2018 season

In the Eagles' second game, against Holy Cross, Dillon had 149 yards and three touchdowns on only six carries. In the following game, he had 33 carries for 185 yards and one touchdown in a road victory over Wake Forest. Against Temple on September 29, he had 28 carries for 161 yards and two touchdowns but suffered an ankle injury. Nearly a month later, he returned and had 32 carries for 149 yards and a touchdown against Miami. On November 17, on the road against Florida State, he had 37 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Despite being somewhat limited due to the ankle injury he suffered against Temple, Dillon still recorded 1,149 total yards and 11 touchdowns, making him the first player in Boston College history to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. The Eagles officially did not make the postseason, as the First Responder Bowl against Boise State was declared a no-contest after lightning early in the game.

2019 season

On September 7, against Richmond in the Eagles' second game, Dillon had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown in the victory. He had 27 carries for 151 yards and a touchdown in the next game against Kansas. In the next game, a road victory over Rutgers, he had 32 carries for 150 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. One week later, he had 23 carries for 159 rushing yards against Wake Forest. One week later, against Louisville, he had 22 carries for 118 yards and a 36-yard reception in the road loss. Two weeks later, against North Carolina State, he had 34 carries for 223 yards and three touchdowns. In a game against Clemson on October 26, Dillon scored his 34th touchdown at Boston College with a 9-yard rush in the second quarter that tied him with Keith Barnette for Eagles' career rushing touchdowns record. In the third quarter, Dillon rushed for another 9 yards for 3,739 career rushing yards that tied him with Andre Williams' record set in 2013. On November 2, in a road game against Syracuse, he had 35 carries for 242 yards and three touchdowns. One week later, he had 40 carries for 165 yards against Florida State. On November 30, in a road victory over Pitt, he had 32 carries for 178 yards and a touchdown. His 1,685 rushing yards led the ACC.

On December 10, 2019, Dillon gave up his senior year eligibility at Boston College and declared for the 2020 NFL draft. Dillon holds the program's all-time rushing record with 4,382 yards in three seasons and is 220 yards short of the Atlantic Coast Conference career rushing record. His 38 career rushing touchdowns, 40 total touchdowns and 4,618 all-purpose yards are also program records.

Personal life

Dillon is African-American and Jewish. His grandfather, Thom Gatewood, was an All-American college football player at the University of Notre Dame and the captain of the 1972 team as well as a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Dillon has co-hosted the "Toonen to Dillon" podcast with Will Toonen from December 2021 to April 2022. He married Toonen's sister Gabrielle on June 25, 2022.

Dillon is an avid promoter of Door County, Wisconsin, having first visited there after he started playing in Green Bay. In November 2021 he was given the key to Door County by Destination Door County, being the only person to receive the honor. Dillon married his wife, Gabrielle, on June 25, 2022, in Door County. On May 2, 2023, his wife gave birth to their first child, who shares the same birthday as Dillon.