Learning from his past mentors, Illinois State’s Dinga now ‘in their shoes’

Redshirt senior Josh Dinga is taking over a leadership role this season. (Photo courtesy Josh Dinga on Twitter)

By Dan Verdun

NORMAL – Josh Dinga’s collegiate football career follows a familiar pattern. Or perhaps it’s one that used to be familiar.

Dinga, a redshirt defensive lineman from Sun Prairie, Wis., is somewhat of an anomaly in today’s transfer portal era. A 2018 Illinois State recruit, Dinga has remained a Redbird.

Dinga has seen players come and go during his time at Hancock Stadium. Now, he is one of the elder statesmen on the roster.

“It’s definitely different. Being here for six years, I’ve played with a lot of dudes,” Dinga told Prairie State Pigskin during this year’s fall camp.

Dinga – listed at 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds – is the most experienced ISU defensive line returnee.

He played in all 11 games a season ago, collecting 19 tackles along with three sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups.

The suburban Madison, Wis., native realizes his role has changed and the proverbial torch has been passed.

“I’ve had some really good guys in front of me to learn from. Now, I’m in their shoes. I get to teach the young guys by giving them some tips and pointers,” he said.

Learned lessons

Last fall, Illinois State (6-5) posted its third winning record in Dinga’s career. However, the Redbirds only made the FCS playoffs once during that time (2019).

“That’s a goal this year for sure,” he said.

Goals needs plans, and plans need execution. So what will it take for ISU to return to the postseason?

“We’re going to have to finish games. There were a couple of games last year that we should have won, but we didn’t. It’s just about finishing games,” Dinga said.

The Redbirds were 4-4 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2022. Two of the losses – both at home – were by a combined seven points.

The first was the conference opener, a 19-14 loss to rival Southern Illinois. The Redbirds shut out the Salukis in the second half yet fell short.

The second occurred on a very windy afternoon in early November.

Visiting Youngstown State got the ball back with 1:06 left and drove 80 yards in eight plays to snatch the win and shock the Redbirds.

Quarterback Mitch Davidson found Bryce Oliver on third down for the 12-yard, game-deciding touchdown pass to pull out a 19-17 Youngstown State victory with just 5 seconds left.

“That was a tough one. Can’t have that happen this year,” said Dinga, who registered three tackles in the game.

While Illinois State does not play Southern Illinois this season, the Redbirds do visit Youngstown State Oct. 21.

Retooling the front seven

ISU defensive coordinator Travis Niekamp used this year’s fall camp to rebuild his defense, which ranked second to only FCS national champion South Dakota State in total defense among the 11-school Missouri Valley last fall.

“Obviously, our front seven we’ve had to kind of retool,” Niekamp said. “We’ve got a lot of good guys that are making a lot of good progress. What’s most exciting for me is that our group wants to be good. They want to work hard and are willing to take the coaching.

“We have a lot of season in front of us, so if we just keep getting better and better and better, that’s what’s important, and we’ll have a pretty good product when we’re done.”

Dinga, now the veteran leader, agrees.

“That’s what we’re after,” he said. “I’m excited for this season.”

Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.

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