On a special Making Monsters podcast, Taylor Doll caught up with Coach Jake Gilbert, the former Head Coach at Westfield High, where Chicago Bears rookie safety Dillon Thieneman attended and played football. Thieneman started varsity as a freshman, and Coach Gilbert shared stories about the start of his career, the recruiting process, how recruiting services operate (this is wild), and his transfer from Purdue to Oregon.
Coach Gilbert also shared what he saw about Thieneman’s football character and
why he’s excelled at every level.
“When people say someone’s all ball, I mean, I think Dillon Thieneman’s all ball,” Coach said. “So, what’s his personality? It’s like, well, if you could get him to stop working on football for five minutes, maybe you could find out. But in reality, that’s just kind of been his priority. He’s been very driven about his goals literally since elementary school. So his relationships and personality and all that, it comes out, but you’ve got to be looking for it because usually he’s pretty hyperfocused on the job and what’s needed and training and all of those things.”
“He just really loves football and is really dedicated to it.”
Check out the video version here for Taylor’s full interview.
Podcast version right here.
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