#151 - Dillon Thieneman on Preparation, Pressure, and Playing Free in the NFL

Dillon Thieneman’s path from Westfield High School to Purdue, Oregon, and now the NFL was built on more than talent.

In this episode of The Coaching Minds Podcast, Ben Carnes sits down with Dillon to talk about the mental side of elite performance: growing up in a competitive household, learning from his brothers’ walk-on mentality, handling recruiting noise, preparing with detail, bouncing back from mistakes, and using visualization to “play the game before the game.”

Dillon shares how preparation helped reduce anxiety, why fundamentals still matter at the highest level, what he learned from Oregon’s championship-level culture, and how he handles pressure, criticism, and comparison now that the stage is even bigger.

This conversation is packed with lessons for athletes, coaches, and parents about confidence, coachability, and staying committed to the process.

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