TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Following last year, Dimitri Mitsopoulos got some words of advice from head coach Larry McDaniel.
"Coach Mac told me, he's like, 'yeah I weighed 150 last year, so he's like, I got to put on some weight'," Mitsopoulos said.
The St. John's junior put on 20 pounds in the offseason and in just two weeks of play, Mitsopoulos is already seeing a difference.
"It's definitely helped me, helped me break some arm tackles here and there and just working out in the offseason," he said. "Putting work in with Braydon (Lichtenberg) in the offseason and the other wide receivers, getting that chemistry down."
Last week against Perrysburg, Mitsopoulos had 213 yards, 11 catches and 2 touchdowns in the Titans' 19 to 7 win.
"Coaches put me in the right spot, the wide receivers blocked, Thomas (Zsiros) had a nice couple blocks on the outside, and I just got the ball and tried to go," Mitsopoulos said.
Besides his growth mentally and physically, coach McDaniel says his versatility on the field helps fuel the offense.
"We know that it's something defenses have to plan for," McDaniel said. "So from a schematic standpoint, the more we get the ball in his hands, the more we know defenses are going to follow him. So it allows you to do some things with decoys and things like that. And the other big thing is our kids get excited when he has the ball."
As the season continues, Mitsopoulos says he'll just keep focusing on being a leader with hopes of reaching one main goal.
"I'm hoping to make it back to the playoffs," he said. "That's the main focus. Make it back to the playoffs, keep working."
