Dunn Catches On

Two years ago, D.J. Dunn walked onto a practice field at Pleasant Grove High School and did something remarkable.

He threw a football for the very first time. 

Sounds strange, right?  Tossing the pigskin is almost second nature for many American kids.

Not for Dunn, a basketball and track standout who never played football until his sophomore year when his friends encouraged him to try out.

“There was never an opportunity, I guess,” said Dunn, laughing.  “I tried playing a little bit in elementary school, but it was really forbidden—no football at school.”

Things sure have changed.

On Monday, Dunn was named the Delta River League’s Defensive Player of the Year after racking up 51 tackles and five sacks in 2011.  As one of Pleasant Grove’s most versatile players, he started every game this season at linebacker and tight end.

Dunn is one huge reason the Eagles are 12-1 and playing in the Sac-Joaquin Section title game against Granite Bay this Saturday, said head coach Joe Cattolico.

“D.J. is as strong and as fast as any kid on the team, which is saying a lot,” said Cattolico.  “He’s got a pretty special skill set athletically.”

Does he ever.  One of the most imposing players on the team, Dunn is a quarterback’s worst nightmare: 6’3”, 220 pounds and runs the 40 in 4.6 seconds.  On offense, those freakish talents helped him catch nine touchdowns and 551 receiving yards in 2011.

These days it’s hard to imagine that Dunn once couldn’t throw a spiral to save his life. 

And he’s still learning. 

A rough beginning

At his first varsity practice last season, Dunn made a rookie gaffe when he lined up at the wrong position.  Instead of standing up like a linebacker, he crouched next to the defensive end with his hand on the ground.

Cattolico quickly set him straight.

“He kind of yelled at me,” said Dunn, chuckling at the memory.  “It was just a little eye-opener for me to see the intensity of everything going on.”

Dunn’s grandmother, Gloria Robinson, remembers that first day a little differently.

“He was pretty excited,” said Robinson.  “We picked him up from practice and he just talked about doing this and doing that and listening to the coach.”

Cattolico has welcomed Dunn’s wide-eyed approach to learning the game, praising the young man’s intellect—he has a 3.65 g.p.a. in school—and ability to soak up football terminology.

“He’ll ask questions sometimes about strategies, like why would the other team do this, or what would be the advantage to doing that,” the coach said.  “It’s refreshing to be honest with you, but it also makes you smile and chuckle a bit because he’s just very green in the sport.”

Overcoming setbacks

Besides a steep learning curve, Dunn faced other obstacles to becoming a football player.  Playing linebacker during his second JV game, Dunn broke his hand and wound up at the emergency room.

The injury ended his JV season and caused some soul-searching about playing football again.

“It was pretty discouraging to go out and try football and then have that happen,” said Dunn.  “My hand breaks and I’m in the ER for the first time in my life because of football.”

His mother, René Miller, remembered how the injury caused considerable anguish for her son.

“It was so early in the season when he was already picking it up so fast and they were commending him.” Miller said.  “And then to have it stop all of a sudden.”

Another athlete might have quit.  Instead, Dunn threw himself into preparations for the following season by working out every morning at 4:00 a.m.

That hard work has paid off.  Along with earning recognition from the DVL this season, Dunn has received scholarship offers to play football at Utah State and Air Force.

But the senior is determined to stay grounded, instead heaping praise on Cattolico and his teammates for their role in his development. He didn’t even know about his Defensive Player of the Year award until someone showed him a newspaper article Tuesday.

Most importantly, he’s eager to help the Eagles repeat as section champions this Saturday.

“I think Coach Cat and my family try to definitely instill a policy of staying humble,” said Dunn.  “I think (the award) is confirmation that our defense and our team as a whole is doing a good job getting this far.”