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BOSTON COLLEGE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 27, 2017

AJ Dillon

Boston, Massachusetts

Florida State - 3, Boston College - 35

Q. Last three weeks you had taken the bulk of the carries. As a freshman, how have you adjusted to the big load carrying the offense and really being the catalyst for the breakout the last three weeks?
AJ DILLON: I mean, I made it my own personal goal just to work a lot harder in practice. After the Louisville game, I realized how taxing all those carries can be, and my stamina wasn't exactly where I would like it to be. So just the last couple weeks in practice, I just have really been trying to push myself to go as hard as I can, just so I can be there when the team needs me in any situation.

Q. First half of the season, the offense struggled to some degree. The last three weeks, obviously, things have flipped significantly. Just what do you think has happened to get to this point?
AJ DILLON: I feel like as a team we've just kind of really started to count on one another. That trust has grown. I know everybody always talks about family, but I genuinely feel that. As a freshman, coming here, this is my first year here. I genuinely feel the family connection. I feel like the last couple weeks it's really starting to click. The chemistry's really building, and everybody's pushing each other to get better. The offense wants the defense to get better, the special teams. The running backs want the linemen to get better, and vice versa. So we're all just eager to get better and work as hard as we can to win each game.

Q. A.J., for the season, you talked about how you came here to really help turn this program around. How does it feel to see that you're starting to help do that?
AJ DILLON: I mean, once again, it was a great team win the last three weeks were great team wins. I'm happy with the fact that the coaches are trusting me in these situations. But, once again, I can't really do anything by myself. Football is not a game where you can play by yourself. So those guys up front, that offensive line has just been making holes for me, and we've been doing great things with the offense. It's a really great opportunity to be around a bunch of great guys.

Q. (Inaudible) talking about the fans swarming the field.
AJ DILLON: Yeah, funny, last night I was actually talking to John Hellman, and I was just asking him about the USC game and what that felt like. He said, it's one of those things that you're never going to forget. He told me, we have a chance to do that today. That was on my mind all last night. I was just thinking about how cool that would be.

I feel like as a team, as a university, this was a really big win for us. Just to see the whole community of Boston College come together like that, after something we did great as a team, it felt really good. I don't think it's really sunken in yet. But I remember watching the USC game on TV. I wasn't here, but I remember seeing it like wow, that's really cool. That's really something special. I got a chance to be part of that today with my teammates. That was something like I'm really just looking forward to. It hasn't sunken in yet. I know looking back at it, it's going to be something I'm going to remember forever and I'm grateful for that.

Q. You have a lot of runs where you're in these big piles moving up the middle, turning your legs. How do you kind of balance keeping the pile moving when you maintain ball security so you don't get ripped when you're up for like four yards in the pile?
AJ DILLON: Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't say it's a crazy secret. Just hold the ball with everything you've got. Our coaches talk a lot. The turnover battle is ridiculous. You have to win that to be a successful program. At the beginning of the season there are a lot of times when the ball did slip out.

I feel like I've made an effort to work on that and correct that. You know, as far as balance goes, it's just a lot of times you don't really see it, but there are linemen in there trying to keep you up. So it's, once again, a team effort. Lot of times when I'm in those piles, the linemen are the first to pick me up. The linemen are the ones that keep pushing helping me get those extra yards. So once again, it's really all just a team, a team thing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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