Wednesday, June 26, 2013

2013 Player Spotlights: Joe Dineen

Dineen, center. Lawrence Journal World.
Joe Dineen
Lawrence Free State

Position(s): Quarterback/Safety
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 205 lbs.
Year: Senior

Stat to Note
Athletic success is in Dineen's blood.  His grandfather, Ron Oelshlager, played football for Kansas in the 1960s and his great-grandfather, J. Roy Holliday, played basketball under Phog Allen at Kansas in the 1930s.  Not to mention both his parents played collegiate sports at the Division One level.

Scouting Report
Dineen is one of the hardest hitting defensive backs I've ever witnessed in the Sunflower League and he has an uncanny ability to make plays on the ball (it probably helps that he's a great baseball player).  With those attributes added to an already tremendous combination of size, speed and athleticism, Dineen recorded 62 tackles, three interceptions and one defensive touchdown, in addition to rushing for 495 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior.  Those efforts earned him First Team All-Sunflower League honors as a defensive back, a year after he earned Second Team honors as a sophomore.  This season, the graduation of Kyle McFarland has left a void at the quarterback position -- one which Dineen will be filling.

The quarterback position at Free State has been one of the most highly-acclaimed positions at any league school over the past decade.  The list of players who've manned the quarterback spot for the Firebirds in that time include Ryan Murphy, Craig Rosenstangle, Camren Torneden, Dylan Perry and McFarland.  Dineen will look to carry on the incredible tradition that's been established by the signal-callers in the Firebird's zone-read attack.

The added dimension of playing a full-time role on offense in addition to his defensive efforts makes Dineen one of the early favorites to win the Simone Award as the most outstanding high school football player in the Kansas City metropolitan area.  With his recruitment complete (Dineen committed to Kansas in late May), the league's most complete all-around player will be able to focus his full attention on trying to bring Free State its first state title in school history.

22 comments:

Wii Not Fit said...

Mark my words he will be the greatest quarterback to come out of the SL in the last decade and yes I fully understand the company that would put him in front of. People have not the slightest clue how good Joe Dineen is but we will all soon find out.

RealityCheckFor785 said...

Wow, "great baseball player"? "Greatest Quarterback"? He's a really good athlete and seems to be a good kid, but let's all take it easy here. Anyone remember his last football game of the season of 2012? He got his butt kicked, figuratively and literally as he backed up into a punt not once but twice having both result in turnovers AND scores (14 points). "Dineen does it all!" was the title on the LJWorld piece the day before, I think. I would caution against making this kid out to be some kind of super star based on, albeit in part, his heritage and favorable stats. I think I now know more about his lineage than I do my own. He’s fun to watch in football but I caught a couple of baseball games this year where I saw him fall in the outfield as a result of miss-judging a pretty routine ball (didn’t touch the ball so maybe that’s why it wasn’t an error), I saw him get picked off and saw a swing that needs a lot of work... hardly a “great baseball player”. He seems to be a very tough kid, he certainly hits hard in football, but I’ve read about several injuries over the past couple of years and he’s just going into his senior year. With a D1 scholarship right around the corner, how will that affect his style of play? Personally, I hope he figures out how to get the job done without exposing himself to a greater risk of injury.

I’m sure some will react nearly violently to this post but who among us hasn’t seen young athletes with very good athletic abilities be propped up above the level those abilities only to eventually not be able to handle failure. I’m NOT saying the kid is a failure, I’m NOT saying he doesn’t or can’t perform on the football field, if anything I’m asking that we all let him set our expectations and NOT assign expectations to him. When he succeeds, celebrate as you would with any other kid, when he fails... treat him like any other kid, don’t sugar coat it, don’t pretend it didn’t happen or put it under a different stats column. I wish him luck and success both on and off the field in the future.

Eli Underwood said...

Dineen, in my opinion, warrants the attention he's received. He's been an All-Sunflower League defensive back in each of his two years as a starter, and he's done quite well in any capacity Free State has used him (save the personal protector disaster in Sub-State last fall -- for the record, most of Free State's success in that game came early when Dineen was running the football).

But having followed the league for some time, I can tell you that Dineen's hype is relatively tame compared to some of the past quarterback/safety stars we've had. Dustin Moomau practically had a fan club in Olathe (2004), Derek Miller was destiny's pick for a state title (2005), Blake Lawrence had seven D1 offers (2006) and Brad Strauss last season had more press clippings heading into the season than anyone in the metro.

To me, he's not receiving any more hype than Maloney, Smith, Randall, etc.

love sports said...

Nice article on outstanding young man.Joe is not only a hard working great athlete he is probably the most humble 17 year old kid I have had the pleasure of knowing.I wish him lots of luck this year! GO FREESTATE

Move the Chains said...

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Free State Fan said...

Joe has the potential to be the greatest QB in FS's brief history. Arm like a cannon is accurate and he can throw any pass on the field. Proved his running ability last year. Hits his highest gear while passing the second level. Very few players in the state will be able to catch him if he gets past the LB's. He competed with McFarland his sophomore year for the QB and many feel he should have been given the reigns then. He's waited his turn and contributed all over the field. He is primed to have a great year on both sides of the ball. Can't wait to see him finally lead the offense full-time. Go 'Birds!

TheImpaler said...

I'm sure Dineen will be fine at QB. I'm picking the Firebirds to finish 3rd in the league this year. Lisher seems to have as endless a stream of all league QBs as Callahgan has kickers and tailbacks. As more and more of these kids are getting d1 scholarships I don't think you can make any firm judgments until they get to the next level. Although if we're talking about high school disappointments, I'm surprised Eli left Darling off the list, talk about overhyped.....

Move the Chains said...

Since discussing QBs, who are the top 5 in the SFL for the upcoming season?

Govannon Grey said...

Top 5 QB's? Let me give it a crack:
1. Joe Dineen LFS -For all the reasons mentioned here.
2. AJ Verdini SMW - Tall, prototypical pocket passer, with 'arm talent'
3. Whoever is Chip Sherman's QB (Most Likely a kid named Jack Hatzfeld)ONW
4. Andre Maloney SMW - Wildcat QBs Count too, right?
5. Connor Murphy - ON Tall, athletic kid did well running early last year, threw a lot of INTs as a sophmore.

EagleSenior said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
EagleSenior said...

It's Cole Murphy for ON

RealityCheckFor785 said...

"Great" and "Greatest"? No question he has very good athletic abilities but when you start using "Great" and "Greatest" to describe a player in team sports, especially the QB in football, you also need to take into account that player's ability to bring out the best in his teammates... helping his teammates play at a higher level and succeed and not just racking up individual stats. It sounds as if you’re saying that his accomplishments early in the SMW game outweigh the 14 points given up as a result of the botched punts, I know you’re not saying that directly but you are at least attempting to dilute the punts or make it a wash. I wasn’t there to see the punts, I don’t know if he was a last minute replacement and never practiced it but having it happen TWICE in the same game with nearly the same result for such a relatively easy (remember, he’s a gifted and experienced football player and athlete) task as a punter’s personal protector is a red flag for me.

I was at the LHS vs Free State baseball game this year at KU and saw this “Great Baseball Player” attempt to lay down a bunt, pop it up along the first base side, stand there and watch it fall a good 2 to 3 feet inside the line and then decide to try to run it out. By the time he decided to run, catcher Drew Green was already on top of the “Bunt”. It looked as if the “Great Baseball Player” was a little put out about being moved down to the bottom of the order and didn’t appreciate having to bunt, the ultimate sacrifice for the team in baseball. Nary a peep from anyone in the media about that. No mention of that in any of the articles or summaries of that game. That situation makes me wonder if he is or was starting to believe that he HAS to do it all.

Strauss had the ability to ask more of his teammates, motivate them to try harder and spread success around the field and among his teammates. I only hope that that characteristic makes the list of accomplishments in LJWorld’s next “Dineen can do it all” cover story they run. Remember, my over all point is that we as fans and also/especially the media should be cautious in assigning “Greatness” to a young man and setting our expectations based on our wishes. Let the kid play hard, succeed and fail at times. Honestly, that bunt episode is completely understandable as an exception for an athlete at his level but when our expectations are that he is a “Great Baseball Player” then it becomes harder to swallow. I’m sure he hasn’t asked for this sort of hype and doesn’t sound like the kind of kid that runs around spreading this kind of hype about himself either. I’m looking forward to watching him play this year. If I see him succeed in getting the most out of his teammates and fostering their success then the team just may be unstoppable this season and I’ll wear green to honor him (in the privacy of my own home and just for a minute).

Wii Not Fit said...

Impaler: Assuming you're taking SMW 1st and ONorth 2nd, I will have to disagree. The sunflower league title is a crap shoot between FS and SMW in my opinion. That game will be a shootout and those two teams will go 9-0 and 8-1 respectively and will get another shot at it in the sub state game later in the season. ONorth will finish 3rd. They are returning two VERY talented players in Venus Triplet and Josh Moore, but unfortunately two players will not be enough to take down either SMW or FS.

Govannon: Joe will be head and shoulders above any other SL QB this season. I honestly was not impressed with Verdini's passing accuracy all last season. The young man has a rocket launcher attached to his shoulder but missed open receivers frequently. It will be interesting to see how SMW is able to convert their run first offensive mindset to a presumably pass first offense this season. I truly believe losing Sterbach will hurt SMW much more than people think next year. The obvious move would be to throw Maloney at tailback but then you lose your main, and in many cases only passing threat. That SMW offense will be interesting next year. One has to think that whoever is the heir to the Brad Strauss legacy at Lawrence High will find some success playing in that offense, but other than Dineen there is a surprising lack of headlining QBs in the SL this season.

Govannon Grey said...

Eagle Senior, Sorry, that was a slip of the mind, thanks for the correction. Wii, I only got to see about 4 of SMWs games last season, and yeah, he did miss some open receivers, but it was kind of my understanding (I'm sure Eli or Impaler can correct/verify this) that last year was AJ's first year of HS football. Other QB's I can see making an impact and I didn't list because of lack of body of work is Leavenworth's QB, who I'm not sure his name but Mark Littrell seems to have some good success with signal callers (Travis Jackson, The Dyers, Brady Croucher, Mike Keese). The other is Jake Seurer of Olathe South, younger brother of the recently departed Frankie, so there's some genetics shared there.

Move the Chains said...

Nice list Govannon. Safe to say SMW and FS have the experienced QBs with Verdini and Dineen. It will be interesting to see how the rest evolve. SMW and FS might have the best interior lineman for that needed protection.

Move the Chains said...

Nice list Govannon. Safe to say SMW and FS have the experienced QBs with Verdini and Dineen. It will be interesting to see how the rest evolve. SMW and FS might have the best interior lineman for that needed protection.

Unknown said...

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Bird watcher said...

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TheImpaler said...

I'll put my full picks out here in a few weeks. I do think AJ's development is going to be key to the Vikes' chances this year. He improved a lot as the year went on last year but really needs to work on moving through his progressions. He tended pick his receiver before the snap, usually Andre which usually works out okay but he did miss Dinges standing all alone in the end zone one play vs. Hutch and forced it into double coverage to Andre. I don't think you can really count Andre as a QB, as I'm told he can't hit the broad side of a barn with a pass...can you imagine if he had that in his arsenal too? Wow. 8 weeks from Friday...can't wait. Anybody on the inside of the SMW program have any thoughts on tailback? And do they have another good kicker waiting in the wings to replace Reed?

Free State Fan said...

Imp - you hit the nail on the head with replacing Reed. Nobody talks about specialists, but Reed was a critical weapon last year hitting bombs on kickoffs and nailing field goals. Field position means a ton in HS football. He may well be more challenging to replace than Sterbach. (That oughta get a few comments!)
Chains - another great observation. The linemen don't get much glory in blogs either, but FS should have another dominant front 5 - even with the loss of Wyatt. OUCH! That one will hurt, but the pipeline is full, so Dineen & Co. should have ample protection and enough running lanes to pick from.

What Do I Know? said...

Juanyae Stallings will be the Vikings RB

What Do I Know? said...

Juanyae Stallings will be the Vikings RB