Rookie linebacker Jordon Dizon is experiencing a first in his football career: he is in the process of learning a position so he can earn playing time. Dizon, who the Lions selected in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft, has been a starter since his high school days in Hawaii and his college days at Colorado.
Dizon sat down with Detroitlions.com to talk about his early experience in the NFL and what he is looking forward to down the line.
Detroitlions.com: What was it like growing up in Hawaii?
Dizon: “For me it was relaxed. Everything you did is relaxed. You went to the beach, you went to school. It was just relaxed. There’s really not too much stress growing up. It was fun. It was definitely a dream to grow up there.”
Detroitlions.com: When did you start playing football?
Dizon: “I started playing in fourth grade, then I decided I didn’t like it and I picked it back up in eighth grade and played it ever since.”
Detroitlions.com: Were you a running back in high school? Dizon: “I was a running back my whole career. Going to college was weird because then the first day of practice I moved to linebacker, so that was different.”Detroitlions.com: Do a lot of linebackers start out as running backs? Dizon: “I don’t know what that deal is. You’re a great running back, but then you’re too slow just to be that running back. So linebackers are slow running backs. That’s pretty much what it is.”Detroitlions.com: What was it like transitioning to linebacker in college? Dizon: “For me that was tough. It wasn’t so much playing linebacker, it was coming from Hawaii, culture shock, food, people – we speak different. It was tough. That was definitely the hardest year of my life so far."Detroitlions.com: After awhile did you find yourself getting more acquainted with it? Dizon: “Oh yeah (the longer I was there it got easier). You think about, if you’re someplace where there’s no friends, it’s the worst place. You could be in hell, but if you’ve got all your friends it’s still fun. You can be in heaven with no friends and it’s boring. Once the years went on and I started making more friends it became a lot easier.”Detroitlions.com: Did your mentality as a player change when you switched positions? Dizon: “Well, it has to. You go from protecting the ball to trying to get the ball out. You do have to get a little more physical I guess you could say. But, in other words, it’s still football.” Detroitlions.com: Did you have any mentors growing up - football or otherwise? Dizon: “Of course everyone has their parents, but – for me – I had my high school football coach. My freshman year I didn’t want to play football, I wanted to play basketball. He kind of talked me into it, kind of forced me and from then on I knew he had my best interests. Not because he was a football coach and he wanted to win, but just because he wanted to see me do good. I always listened to him and he was a great guy for me.” Detroitlions.com: Did he want you to play football instead of basketball because of your talent level? Dizon: “I don’t know. I’m a hard worker. I do like to get things done and I have a high-end motor and never stop. So it could come down to talent where I was good in football, but it also comes down to how hard working I am.” Detroitlions.com: How has the experience of playing in the NFL compared with what you expected? Dizon: “In college, it’s hard because you’ve got school and you’ve got football. Your life is always structured. But in some ways that makes it easier. In the NFL, you’re treated like a man, so you do what you’ve got to do in your own time but you have to get everything done. Nothing’s scheduled for you. In some sense, you’re kind of like, ‘What do I do now, my schedule is later.’ So it’s been tough for me just trying to get used to having the free time and trying to utilize that free time correctly. That’s been the toughest part for me." Detroitlions.com: Has it been tough being in a brand new place again? Dizon: “Yeah. What makes it easier is I have my fiancé with me. So having someone out here that you know and you care about is awesome." Detroitlions.com: What are you looking to accomplish this year as a player? Dizon: “Just build a foundation, pretty much. Build something I can, for the rest of my career, I can use and not just try to squeeze through things and not really understand but more or less understand everything that I’m going through. So as the years come, I can build on that foundation and get better. Then you see a lot of guys just, they don’t really know it, but they kind of squirm their way into things and they do it right sometimes but they do it wrong, then it kind of haunts them for the rest of their career. So for me, I’m just trying to figure everything out and set a foundation so I build off of that.”Detroitlions.com: Have you matched up with NFL talent the way you thought you would? Dizon: “For me, it really has nothing to do with thinking about that. In some sense, you are your biggest enemy. The only person that’s pretty much going to defeat you is yourself. The way I see it is: being someone who makes all the checks and makes the call, it doesn’t matter what kind of athletic ability the guy across from me has got, it matters if I make the right call or not. In some sense, I’m don't want to beat myself and that’s all I think about." Detroitlions.com: Have you always had the instincts you have now? Dizon: “I don’t know. Over the years you practice, you play for so long and you start to develop a sense for what people see. Especially if I was a running back, you see stuff and you want to break there, you want to cut there. If there’s a guy there, you want to go the other way. You do have it – some people just have it – but you also do learn a bunch."Detroitlions.com: Have you always been as secure with yourself as you seem now? Dizon: “Oh yeah. Definitely. If you’re an insecure guy and you’re not really confident in what you do, you’re going to struggle. No matter what you do in life, whether it’s football or anything. For me, I think, just going out there and believing, ‘Hey, I can do this. If someone else is doing this, I can do this, too.’ It’s like he’s Superman. It’s not like he jumped into his pants. We both put on our pants one leg at a time. So I think, if someone else can do it, I can do it too. It just takes time, it really does."Detroitlions.com: How are you handling the process of having to develop into your on-field role? Dizon: “How am I handling it? I’ve started every game in high school, started every game in college and now you come here and you kind of have to sit and wait it out. And not just wait it out, but see what happens and you have to get better so you earn the starting job. But, for me, it’s been good. It’s been a life lesson definitely to sit there and, in some ways, my last two years in college I kind of had the position handed to me just because I played it for awhile. Now to actually work for it and try to earn it and try to get better is fun."Detroitlions.com: Have you felt yourself progress in practice? Dizon: “Oh yeah. Like I said, confidence is huge. How you get confidence is you experience new situations and I’ve been put through a whole bunch of situations now with the four preseason games and the last two games – it’s just confidence. I know I’ve been there, I’ve done it and now I can do it again. If I did it once, I can do it again, so I have more confidence in myself and it definitely helps with the progression."
