Heritage senior Dion Dean had one of the most impressive games of the season last week against Loganville where he amounted to 350 all-purpose yards and 5 touchdowns. The wide receiver was unstoppable through the air totalling 250 yards on 13 catches and was named a standout on the website.
Soon after Dean was voted the Player of the Week, and quite honestly, rightfully so. Even though his team lost in a wild shootout against Loganville, Dean did about everything possible to help his team win.
At the midpoint of the season, Heritage is currently 2-3 as they enter the bulk of their region play. For seniors at Heritage like Dean, they have had to adapt to a revolving door of coaches during their HS career, but he believes the program is headed in the right direction.
“I will describe my senior year as ‘being hard but fair.’ It has been tough having 3 head coaches in 4 years, however, I appreciate coach Andrews for coming in and showing us what the standard of working hard really is,” Dean said.
Compared to last year’s game against Loganville where Heritage lost 64-8, there are obvious signs of improvement for the Patriots who fell short 48-40 last Friday. Seniors like Dean have made a huge impact, but getting to this point has been a rocky road of discovery and improvement for the wide receiver.
“My junior year I battled constant hardships having to miss two to three games due to ankle injuries, but I worked with coach Tres perfecting my craft at wide receiver. I’ve earned coach Andrews’ trust on the field, and coach Meyer putting me in a better position to make plays. They leave me no option but to leave it on all on the field,” he said.
Dean is a consistent playmaker on the field who lines up primarily in the slot and uses his good change of direction and adept route running to break down defensive backs. His great speed in the open field allows him to effortlessly glide by tacklers to the point that he makes it look easy.
You cannot deny the production and speed that Dean shows in his senior film. He is a true breakout player in this recruiting class with a passion for the game.
“I really love playing football,” Dean said.
“I really don’t remember my stats unless someone is talking about them. All I think about is staying in the moment and striving to be great every week for continuous improvement in the sport. So accomplishing my goals is to be great every week and to make the next play.”
On the recruiting front, Dean has started to see some interest from UT-Chattanooga, Illinois, Wingate, and Louisiana-Lafayette. With a class full of talented receivers, Dean has a lot of competition to secure offers down the stretch, but he seems to have an ‘it’ factor that puts him a step ahead of the competition.
Even going back to his junior film, where he played a lot of running back, Dean seems to have a 2nd gear that leaves defenders in the dust that will actually catch you off guard. He is quite literally deceptively fast in the open field and this is the consistent theme when watching his film.
Dean is an interesting prospect. On one count, a 5’9″ slot receiver is quite common in high school football, but when you peel back his senior film you will be consistently impressed with the relative ease he shows sprinting by defenders.
The senior looks like a no-doubt D1 prospect in our eyes and is absolutely a prospect we will continue to watch closely as the fall develops, so be sure to follow @RecruitGeorgia on Twitter/X to hear the latest on Dean and athletes all across the state.
Awesome article!!! I am so proud of you Dion.