Josh Dallas didn’t become an integral part of the Georgia Southern offense overnight. It just may seem that way.
Dallas, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound redshirt sophomore wide receiver who played his high school football at Trinity Christian High School in Sharpsburg, Ga., where he was coached by his father, Kenny, is beginning to bloom and become a threat under the tutelage of offensive coordinator Ryan Aplin.
A member of Coach Clay Helton’s first recruiting class along with his brother David, who is a quarterback currently on the sidelines due to an injury, Dallas is an excellent example of the by-product of hard work and coaching.
“It’s been a cool transition,” said Dallas of his evolving into being one of the Eagles’ playmakers. “I’ve been here a few years now. The first year I redshirted, last year I got to play a lot of special teams and I integrated a little bit with the offense.
“This past season I got challenged by Coach Ap,” Dallas said. “I was going to get an opportunity this year to be a playmaker.
“The first few games I got some good opportunities but as the season has progressed, I think Coach Ap has done a really good job of really using all of us to the best of our abilities. Everyone on the field is a little different and so I think he’s done a great job of figuring out different ways to use all of us.”
Although he has decent speed and quickness Dallas is not a speed burner. He is an excellent route runner and has sure hands. He is also developing an ability to create separation from defenders.
For the season Dallas has 34 catches for 490 yards and four touchdowns, an average of 14.41 yards per catch. He also has one touchdown rushing, that coming against Troy last Saturday.
However, it was once Sun Belt Conference play that Dallas began showing his potential. He had a coming out party against Georgia State when he caught nine balls for 89 yards and his first collegiate touchdown. In six conference games he has 27 receptions for 388 yards and four touchdowns.
Dallas gives Aplin a great deal of credit for his improving numbers but he admits he has also put in a great deal of work to make himself better.
“It took a little bit of time to figure out where I truly fit in with the offense,” Dallas said. “Coach Ap has done a great job of fitting me in different cool sets, too.
“I continue to work on coming out of the breaks and stuff,” Dallas said. “I think I run really solid routes, but I’m continuing to work on all those things. The reason I’m able to produce this year is because I’ve put my head down and I’ve worked catching JC (quarterback JC French) and coming out of my breaks every single day, perfecting my routes and working on leverage to create separation, maybe chicken winging the guy to create separation.
“If I can be physical with the DB and create separation JC is always going to throw a great ball and it helps him if I can create some separation at the top of my route.”
As the son of a successful football coach —Trinity won a state championship Dallas’ senior year when it went 14-0 after having lost in the championship game the previous year and Kenny is 154-74 overall – Dallas has a thorough understanding of the game which enables him to assist teammates.
“I pride myself on a leadership role,” Dallas said. “I like to think when I’m out there I make the guys around me better in the sense I have one of the best grasps of the offense in the building so I can help guys be where they need to be, learning the system, learning the game plan, in the film room. I just want to make everyone around me better.”
