Just a few days before the start of the 2022 season, Dylan Tucker said he was feeling the excitement for his third season on the field for Elon University’s football team.
During one on one drills against former wide receiver Bryson Daughtry on Aug. 18, 2022, Tucker suddenly felt a pain in his chest as his pectoral muscle in his chest was torn.
The injury sidelined him for the entire 2022-23 season, something Tucker said was the hardest moments in his career.
“That was really difficult for me, having such high expectations and goals for yourself and not even being able to reach them or even have the opportunity to do anything on the field was very difficult,” Tucker said. “It was definitely a big shift, but I think it helped me realize how much I love the game of football, how much I just want to contribute, and how much all this matters to me and how much I care about my teammates.”
After adapting to the injury, Tucker said he found he still had a job to do even though he couldn’t play. He became a leader, giving advice to teammates, coaches and helping out during film sessions.
While on the sideline, Tucker advised former Elon football linebacker Marcus Hillman ’23. Tucker said he and Hillman have a great relationship and give each other pointers as they both had things to learn. Before Tucker’s injury, the two competed for the same starting position, but Tucker didn’t let that put a strain on their relationship.
“No matter who went out there at the starter position, I knew we were both gonna go out there and make plays, especially since we had kind of different skill sets,” Tucker said. “Being able to watch him have that all-American season was really important for me. And he really helped the team in a lot of different ways.”
Tucker said he was able to learn a lot while watching from the sideline, watching Hillman being awarded his first team all-American, first team all-conference, as well as 83 tackles, 8.5 sacks and four forced fumbles on the season. Tucker said the biggest thing he learned from Hillman and captains before him was how to be a leader and how to bring out the best from his teammates.
“I just like to lead by example, develop relationships with my teammates. Make sure I know everybody in the locker room,“ Tucker said. “Making sure we're always reaching and chasing that same goal. I feel like it's something that kind of everybody may have seen in me and just trying to be a leader and an older guy for the rest of the team, I think was very important.”
Elon Head Football Coach Tony Trisciani said Tucker’s ability to lead from the sideline led his teammates to vote him as one of the team captains for this upcoming season.
“He's got good habits on and off the field, works his tail off in the offseason, does things right around the building and his teammates believe in him. And he's followable. And he's a guy that has the ability to make his teammates around him better,” Trisciani said. “Dylan's a versatile football player. He's extremely talented. He's got a great football IQ. He plays with a ton of emotion. He plays angry and he's got a skill set where he can play a lot of different spots, you know, on our defensive back end.”
As for Tucker’s season goals, he said aims to be an all-conference and all-American player, but he also wants to be the best captain he can be.
“I just want to be the best teammate that I can be, the best leader stepping into this role, making sure that I'm an example for these younger guys, so they can see how it needs to be done. And we can continue to carry culture and tradition even after I graduate,” Tucker said. “I want to win the national championship and that's just how I view it, but we’re just going to have to continue to work.”
For North Carolina native and Elon football redshirt sophomore, Dylan Tucker said coming to Elon during the pandemic was weird like so many other first year athletes. Luckily he was able to find a way to adjust, he said. Tucker was able to earn a starting spot during the adjusted spring season that the pandemic caused, finishing his first year with 15 tackles and one interception.
“Coming in not having a fall season was not what I was expecting when it comes being a freshman in the classroom and being a freshman on the field. So it was a lot to adjust to, but ultimately it was a good thing for me,” Tucker said. “I had a little bit more time to develop, a little more time to dive into the playbook and get to know my teammate, things like that. So it was overall a good thing for me.”
Tucker continued this strong play into his second year for his first real fall season at Elon as he finished the 2021 season with 35 tackles and two forced fumbles one of which he returned for his first career touchdown. He said a big change for him was moving to the “Spur position”, a defensive position term known for its diversity on the field of mixing multiple positions.
“Sophomore year was my first regular year. So it was a quick turnaround from the spring, um, I moved positions from playing cornerback, I ended up playing the spur position,” Tucker said. “You're doing things a cornerback would do, you’re doing things that a safety would do, and you’re doing something a linebacker would do.”
Tucker said after that season he was excited to start working towards his third season and just a few days before scrimmage he tore his pec. This injury caused him to then be sidelined for the entire season. He said this was one of his hardest moments during his playing career and felt like he was no longer able to contribute. He found after adapting to the injury he still had a job to do even though he couldn’t play he became a leader giving advice to teammates, coaches, and helping out during film sessions.
“That was really difficult for me, having such high expectations and goals for yourself. And not even being able to reach them or even have the opportunity to do anything on the field was very difficult,” Tucker said. “It was definitely a big shift, but I think it helped me realize how much I love the game of football, how much I just want to contribute, and how much all this matters to me and how much I care about my teammates.”
One of those players that he gave advice to while on the sideline was former Elon football linebacker and graduate, Marcus Hillman. Tucker said he and Hillman have a great relationship giving each other pointers as they both had things to learn as nobody's perfect. Before Tucker’s injury the two were competing for the same starting position but Tucker didn’t let that put a strain on their relationship.
“I love Marcus, you know, he's one of my very good friends. We talk all the time. My standpoint on it was, I knew that we were both gonna get out on the field. And no matter who went out there at the starter position, I knew we were both gonna go out there and make plays, especially since we had kind of different skill sets,” Tucker said. “Being able to watch him have that All-American season was really important for me. And he really helped the team in a lot of different ways.”
Thanks to Hilman and his first team All-American, first team All-Conference, and 83 tackles, 8.5 sacks and four forced fumbles on the season Tucker was able to learn a lot while watching from the sideline. The biggest thing Tucker said he learned from Hillman and captains before him was how to be a leader and how to better his teammates around him.
“I just like to lead by example, develop relationships with my teammates. Make sure I know everybody in the locker room,“ Tucker said. “Making sure we're always reaching and chasing that same goal. I feel like it's something that kind of everybody may have seen in me and just trying to be a leader and an older guy for the rest of the team, I think was very important.”
Elon football head coach, Tony Trisciani said Tucker’s ability to lead from the sideline led his teammates to vote him as one of the team captains for this upcoming season. He has seen this skill ever since
“He's got good habits on and off the field. Works his tail off in the offseason, does things right around the building and, you know, his teammates believe in him. And he's followable. And he's a guy that has the ability to make his teammates around him better,” Trisciani said. “Dylan's a versatile football player. He's extremely talented. He's got a great football IQ. He plays with a ton of emotion. He plays angry and he's got a skill set where he can play a lot of different spots, you know, on our defensive back end.”
As for Tucker’s season goals he said the obvious ones are to be an All-Conference and All-American player but he also wants to be the best captain he can be.
“I just want to be the best teammate that I can be, the best leader stepping into this role, making sure that I'm an example for these younger guys, so they can see how it needs to be done. And we can continue to carry culture and tradition even after I graduate,” Tucker said. “I want to win the national championship and, and that's just how I view it, but we’re just going to have to continue to work. Keep putting our heads down. Keep making the routine plays more routine and keep working.