From Greece to Chicago to Tucson, Drossos has solid family foundation
WEEKLY BLOG: 4/14/24
As the name might suggest, Dinos Drossos has roots that go back to Greece. It's just a couple generations back as his grandparents are from Kefalonia. While the United States might have some parts of the country that seem old, they can't compare to Greece, which once boasted two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - the Statue of Zeus at Olympia and the Colossus of Rhodes.
Both of those statues were built a few hundred years BC and have long since been destroyed. While Drossos was born and raised in the Chicago area, he does have family back in the old country.
When looking at Drossos, the first thing that stands out are the arm muscles which seemingly look like they could have been chiseled by Ancient Greek sculptors. Instead, of course, they come from hard work.
Some of that work was away from the weight room and in liquor stores that his family owned in some of the rough areas of Chicago, where he helped out on weekends. Shortly after starting high school, his parents sold their store and moved to Tucson to buy a new one. And that's where this native of the Midwest with the Greek first name became a part of our community of Arizona high school football.
At 6-4 and 210 pounds, the Salpointe student is ranked among the best linebackers in the state. Several big-name colleges have been talking to him and should be stopping by when the spring evaluation period begins this week.
"When I came out to Arizona, I looked at Hamilton, Perry, and Salpointe," Drossos said in an e-mail interview. "My cousin, Travis Drossos, played football at Perry with the Purdy brothers. My father's old teammate at Purdue, (former Arizona head coach) Kevin Sumlin, had told him that his sons went to Salpointe and it was the best for sports and academics in Southern Arizona."
Another cousin of Drossos, Ryan Anderson, has signed to play baseball at the University of Arizona this fall giving him some more family close by.
"I really like Arizona weather and the people here are very nice," Drossos said. "Arizona reminds me a lot of Greece minus the water. We have family back in Greece on the island of Kefalonia."
Football wasn't the first sport for Drossos. He played travel club in both hockey and soccer. In Chicago, Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios and his cousins owned the ice rink near Drossos' house. It wasn't until Drossos got taller and asked his father if he could play football (in the eighth grade) that he'd get to show what he could do on that field. The next year, he played on the varsity team for Oswego HS.
Dinos comes from a very athletic family. In addition to his father playing football for Purdue, his mother was an All-State basketball player. His other brother, Aeden, stuck with hockey and is considered a prospect. His sister had offers out of high school to play soccer in college. In the weight room, Drossos lifts every day for at least two hours and also schedules some time for conditioning.
"I lift with my teammates at 6 a.m. and after school for 1-2 hours and an hour of cardio," Drossos said. "Two to three days a week, I get training from former Arizona player Nazar Bombata. Naz really trains us hard!"
Drossos is completely locked into football. All of the working out and training is for the long-term effects of playing on Friday nights and beyond.
"My favorite part of football is going one-on-one to compete," Drossos said. "I like history. Football is like armies lining up and the coaches are generals with the players soldiers. It's a chess match to see which one has the best strategists and the best players."
Along with Sumlin, Salpointe President Kay Sullivan was a big part of Drossos' decision to attend Salpointe Catholic. Last year was a breakthrough season for him as he had 72 tackles and registered eight sacks in his junior season. Drossos forced two fumbles, recovered a pair of fumbles, and intercepted two passes, taking one of them back to the house.
"Salpointe Catholic is a warehouse for Division I athletes in every sport and has some of the best minds in Arizona," Drossos said. "You know your classmates will be doctors, lawyers, scientists, reporters, etc."
Prior to last season, Drossos has played safety and tight end. With his speed and strength, he could do damage in the secondary. Two of Drossos' favorite players in the NFL are tight ends - Cole Kmet and Travis Kelce. With his height at 6-4, he believes he's better off playing on defense as most tight ends at the next level are taller than that.
Drossos has competed in several combines to test his speed, agility, and strength at various drills. One of the more impressive numbers that stands out is his bench pressing. Last summer at the Don Bosco Prep Academy camp in Indiana, he did 39 reps of 185 pounds. This year, in January, Drossos was named the linebacker MVP at The Show NXGN Showcase combine. More recently, Drossos took part in the Under Armour Elite camp, where the 40 was timed via laser. Here's his results from that one:
Off the field, Drossos is quiet and low-key. However, he does like to experience a little bit of life on the edge.
"I hang out with my teammates and my girlfriend, Maria," Drossos said. "I like to swim and when in Greece with my brother and my cousins, we love to cliff jump! I also have five different dirt bikes that I ride with my favorite being a Yamaha 125 cc."
Drossos heads into his last Spring Ball already holding one offer, but it's a pretty big one. Under the advice of former Salpointe head coach Eric Rogers, Drossos called Nebraska recruiting assistant Dakota Haberland. He asked if Drossos could fly out for a game and an unofficial visit last fall. Drossos took the trip in October for the Huskers' game in Lincoln against Purdue. In a game played with temperatures in the 30s, Nebraska defeated the Boilermakers, 31-14.
"I met with Nebraska coaches Haberland and (linebackers) coach Rob Dvoracek," Drossos said. "They had watched my film and ran me through some testing. They nicknamed me 'The Unicorn' and said I was a dream come true and under everyone's radar. They offered that weekend!"
Aside from Nebraska, at least 10 Power Four schools have been in contact with Drossos. More trips will likely come as his father would like him to see different parts of the country so he can make the right decision of where to attend college and continue to play football.
Salpointe, the only Southern Arizona school in 6A, had its best season since moving up to that conference in 2023. The Lancers went 10-3 and made a run to the 6A semifinals. Drossos said he looks at his life in stages with this upcoming senior year being the end of the high school one. He also mentioned a special purpose the team will be playing for.
"I'm going to enjoy this last year of high school and keep giving my 100 percent to my teammates and coaches," Drossos said. "It's important to my teammates and I to dedicate this upcoming season to (new) Salpointe head coach Pat Ryden and his family. In February, his 21-year old daughter passed away at Northern Arizona."
Salpointe Catholic will begin the 2024 season on Aug. 30 with a road game at Marana.
Reach Chris Eaton at gridironarizona@yahoo.com or DM at @gridironarizona with story ideas.
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