Kiski Area’s Jack Dilts is packing on the pounds and the scholarship offers

By: Greg Macafee
Monday, July 6, 2020 | 2:15 PM

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Kiski Area defensive end Jack Dilts had quite the holiday.

Before the fireworks went off, Dilts was on the phone with Akron, and the conversation ended with the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder receiving a scholarship offer. Dilts has also received offers from Robert Morris, Albany, Bucknell, Duquesne, Penn and Toledo.

“I’ve been talking to (defensive line coach Brian Cochran) over the last couple months, and that picture that the Trib posted (from a June 18 workout), I reposted it on Twitter,” Dilts said. “He sent it to the rest of the coaches, and they were like, ‘Call him immediately.’ They thought I looked really good in it.”

The photo was taken during Kiski Area’s first day back on the field when the Cavaliers were running through conditioning drills and workouts.

“It was nice to get back out there, but the running wasn’t,” Dilts said with a laugh.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Dilts has been getting attention since the beginning of quarantine. His first offer from Toledo came at the end of January, and Penn followed Feb. 8. His next offer from Duquesne came in April, and the others followed.

Dilts said he is looking forward to making college visits when things open up, with a trip to Bucknell planned for August.

“I’m not sure how I feel about it, but I definitely want to make some visits, though,” Dilts said.

Heading into spring and summer, Dilts said one of his main goals was to get bigger and work on his hands on the line. Since wrestling season, when we weighed about 218, Dilts said he has put on just over 30 pounds.

“It’s been a lot of steak and pasta,” Dilts said.

As a junior last season, Dilts recorded 43 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and five pass deflections. Leading up to his senior year, Dilts has been putting in as much work as he can during practice and his free time.

“We have our normal practice. We’ll lift, and then some of our tackles and our O-line, we’ll go out and do some pass-rush stuff and everything,” Dilts said.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Kiski Area