When Boston College wide receiver Dino Tomlin was younger, he went to St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, for Pittsburgh Steelers training camp.
While his father, Mike Tomlin, coached, Dino participated in individual drills, learning from wide receivers coaches Richard Mann and, eventually, the late Darryl Drake. It was an experience that shaped the player he is today.
That said, while being the son of a Super Bowl-winning head coach has its perks, it's not all smooth sailing.
"Growing up in Pittsburgh when your dad's the head coach of the Steelers, which is like the biggest organization in the city, a lot of pressure was put on me," Tomlin said Friday. "Not that I didn't accept the pressure, but I dealt with a lot of pressure going to school, playing football."
Tomlin continued: "When I was younger, I was nervous about it. I didn't like to deal with it. I didn't like to tell people the stuff I was going through. As I got older, I kind of accepted that that's my identity."
Tomlin used to be a four-sport athlete. He dropped baseball to spend more time on basketball. Then he cut basketball so he could focus on 7-on-7 football. But he ran track and field before he even tried football.
Tomlin has a certain humility about him that's evident in the way he talks about his track days.
"Once I got older and everybody hit puberty, and I was slower, I ran the hurdles—and I just kept running hurdles," Tomlin said.
That doesn't mean he's slow. It just means he's modest. After all, Tomlin was the Pennsylvania Class 2A state champion in the 300-meter hurdles.
The gridiron is where he stood out the most, though. As a senior at Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, Tomlin reeled in 30 passes for 967 yards. In total, he piled up 19 touchdowns that season and, ultimately, committed to Maryland over Pittsburgh, Iowa State and Army.
Tomlin, however, spent most of his time in College Park as a reserve wideout and as a special teamer. He appeared in two games as freshman in 2019 before redshirting that season. Then, in 2020, he saw action in four games yet didn't register a catch and actually only participated in five offensive snaps—22 fewer than the year prior.
This past season, Tomlin saw his offensive snap count rise to 70, according to Pro Football Focus. Still, he caught just two passes for 12 yards.
Even so, Tomlin was originally planning on staying at Maryland. He didn't decide to transfer until a week before the start of BC's spring semester.
"I just felt like it was the right time to go," he said. "I didn't have a lot of time, and I knew if I was going to leave, I wanted to make it into spring ball and get acclimated to whatever program I went to."
Tomlin added: "I'm happy about the move."
Tomlin hadn't been to Boston since he visited Harvard in high school. His first trip to Beantown took place during the summer after his sophomore year at Shady Side. His family took a trip up to see the Red Sox. It was David Ortiz's final season. And he homered.
"That was cool," Tomlin said with a smile.
He also lit up when he was asked about what it's like playing with BC star wideout Zay Flowers.
"He a crazy dude, but I enjoy playing with him," Tomlin said. "You would think a number one would be real selfish, but he's not selfish at all. He's real about how we conduct ourselves, how we move. He's real focused on that and making sure that the whole team, specifically the wide receiver group, gets that from him."
Forming relationships with his new teammates was a top priority for Tomlin when he arrived at BC this winter because, in his words, "football's such an intimate sport."
Tomlin called the program's culture welcoming and emphasized how supportive his teammates are.
"It feels like a real family," he said. "And I can actually say that."
