Corey Dillon

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:	Seattle (WA) Franklin
College:	Washington
NFL draft:	1997 / round: 2 / pick: 43
Career history
Cincinnati Bengals (1997–2003) New England Patriots (2004–2006)
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl champion (XXXIX) 4× Pro Bowl (1999–2001, 2004) First-team All-American (1996)
Career NFL statistics
Rushes: 2,618 Rushing yards: 11,241 Rushing touchdowns: 82 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Corey James Dillon (born October 24, 1974) is a former American football running back, who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Dillon played college football at the University of Washington for one season, after two years at junior colleges. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft, and later played for the New England Patriots. Dillon is a member of the 10,000 yard rushing club.

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. 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. 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.

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

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Dillon in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft, the 43rd overall pick and the fifth running back. 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 and remains a Bengals rookie record for carries, yards, and touchdowns, and franchise record for touchdowns. 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 an otherwise horrible Bengals team. After a 2001 game, Dillon said “we will never win with the Brown family in Cincinnati." From 1997 to 2002, he rushed for over 1,000 yards each year, and made the Pro Bowl 3 times (1999–2001). 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 on November 20, 1977. The record has since been broken by Jamal Lewis (295 yards) on September 14, 2003, and Adrian Peterson (296 yards) on November 4, 2007; it remains a franchise record for yards and yards-per-carry (12.64).

In 2003, Dillon only rushed for 541 yards due to injury, which, along with the emergence of Rudi Johnson, precipitated the trade of Corey Dillon to the New England Patriots for a second-round pick. The Oakland Raiders appeared to be the first team to express interest, but the Raiders were unwilling to sacrifice an early-round draft choice for the aging running back. Dillon left the Bengals as the team's all-time leading rusher with 8,016 yards, surpassing James Brooks's 6,447 yards. He also remains the franchise record holder in carries (1,865) and rushing yards per game (75.3).

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, 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; the latter tied him for third in the league that season.

In 2007, the Patriots released Dillon, age 32, on March 2. In mid-August, there were rumors that Dillon might rejoin the Cincinnati Bengals, due to the loss of backup running back Kenny Irons to season-ending knee surgery. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis struck down the rumor. On August 5, Dillon told the Boston Globe that he would retire from the NFL. On October 1, the press reported that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers expressed interest in Dillon returning to the NFL; Dillon stated he was not interested. A month later, Dillon admitted to considering a comeback with the Patriots with the season-ending injury to RB Sammy Morris.

Career statistics

			Rushing								Receiving
Year	Team	Game	Attempts	Yards	Yds/Rush	Long	TD	1st D	Fumbl	Lost	Recs	Yards	Yds/Rec	Long	TD	1st D
1997	CIN	16	233	1,129	4.8	71	10	57	1	0	27	256	9.6	28	0	8
1998	CIN	15	262	1,130	4.3	66	4	56	2	2	28	178	6.4	41	1	4
1999	CIN	15	263	1,200	4.6	50	5	61	3	2	31	290	9.4	23	1	12
2000	CIN	16	315	1,435	4.6	80	7	66	4	3	18	158	8.8	31	0	5
2001	CIN	16	340	1,315	3.9	96	10	69	5	3	34	228	6.7	17	3	13
2002	CIN	16	314	1,311	4.2	67	7	69	5	2	43	298	6.9	19	0	18
2003	CIN	13	138	541	3.9	39	2	24	0	0	11	71	6.5	14	0	4
2004	NE	15	345	1,635	4.7	44	12	81	4	3	15	103	6.9	20	1	3
2005	NE	12	209	733	3.5	29	12	49	1	1	22	181	8.2	25	1	8
2006	NE	16	199	812	4.1	50	13	48	2	2	15	147	9.8	52	0	5
Total		150	2,618	11,241	4.3	96	82	580	27	18	244	1,913	7.8	52	7	80

Personal life

Dillon and his wife, Desiree, have three daughters: Cameron, Carly, and Deavan. They reside in Calabasas in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In April 2010, his wife filed for divorce.

See also

• List of NCAA major college football yearly scoring leaders
• Washington Huskies football statistical leaders

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · ESPN · CBS Sports · Yahoo! Sports · SI.com · Pro Football Reference · Rotoworld