AJ Dillon talks his friendship with Jordan Love, his first Lambeau Leap not going as planned, those famous quads and re-signing with Packers

AJ Dillon lived with Jordan Love before the 2020 NFL draft not knowing where their futures were heading next.

As fate would have it, they both landed in Green Bay after the Packers selected them both early in the draft.

Four years later, they're the last two from that class who remain with the Packers. Love is the unquestioned face of the franchise after finally getting his opportunity last year to start, while Dillon is back for his fifth season after re-signing this past offseason.

Dillon talked about his relationship with Love on and off the field, remaining with the Packers, his nicknames for his quads, how his first Lambeau Leap didn't go as planned and more during his recent appearance on the "Thanalysis Show," a podcast hosted by Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo.

Here are some takeaways.

AJ Dillon and Jordan Love built a friendship before they even arrived to the Packers

Dillon played at Boston College, and Love at Utah State.

But after joining the same agency after college, they became fast friends and lived in the same apartment in Orange County prior to the draft. That friendship has continued to grow in the years together with the Packers.

"We got to know each other really well," Dillon recalls about those days before the draft. "We got a great friendship, started before we became teammates. Came a long ways."

Love was the first-round pick in 2020 who the Packers were betting on becoming the heir apparent to Aaron Rodgers. Dillon was selected 36 picks later by the Packers and quickly became a fan favorite after he took an instant liking to the community.

While many outside Green Bay had doubts about Love, Dillon always had his back.

"Jordan Love, he's one of my good friends," Dillon said. "I've seen his whole process. For me, I want to be there with him, help him out. I want to help go get that ring.

"It’s awesome. I want to be part of it, to be able to experience that with one of my best friends on and off the field."

AJ Dillon on his first Lambeau Leap was in stadium with barely any fans

When Jordan Love was on Antetokounmpo's podcast earlier this year, he gave the Bucks forward a tutorial on the Lambeau Leap.

However, Love had noted that he has yet to participate in the Lambeau Field tradition.

Dillon has some on his résumé. His first two didn't go as smoothly as he would have liked, however. They came near the end of the 2020 season when the Packers played the Tennessee Titans and there were just a few hundred fans in the stands due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fans are what make the leap special and typically can give the players a hand as they're jumping up to them.

"I didn't make it up," Dillon said of his first Lambeau Leap attempt after scoring his first career touchdown.

He would score a second time in that game.

His first experience left him "a little hesitant" on the next attempt. But he noted that former teammate Allen Lazard "gave me a little push."

Like Love told Antetokounmpo, the wall isn't as easy to scale as one might assume.

"It's a little higher than you think," Dillon said. "It's more of a basketball vertical than a football vertical. There's some technique that goes into it."

AJ Dillon named his quads after that Tennessee Titans game

Speaking of that Titans game, that was Dillon's coming out party as a rookie.

His 21-carry, 124-yard and two-touchdown performance in the cold and snow at Lambeau Field opened eyes in the Packers' 40-14 win.

He used his massive lower-body strength to bulldoze over the Titans defense. Fans took notice. Dillon said when he got on social media after the game people started photoshopping his head on top of Godzilla. Some were calling him Quadzilla. Others called him the Quadfather.

"Which one are you going to pick?" Dillon remembered people asking him.

So, he decided that his left quad would be called "quadzilla" and the right "quadfather."

"We just kind of ran with it," Dillon said.

AJ Dillon's quads have taken on a life of their own

Dillon understands that building a brand is important for players. And his brand has become those quads. Dillon has capitalized on the hype around those quads with "Quadzilla" even the main character for his children's book.

"The best thing to do is to take your helmet off, let people see who you are, let people get to know you," Dillon said.

People have certainly wanted to get up close to his quads.

Dillon talked on the podcast about an experience with a man at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport that initially caught him off guard.

"As his wife is ready to take the picture he drops down on his knees and grabs my left thigh," Dillon recalled. "Full cheese. He got up and said, 'Thank you.' I’m thinking did that really happen? Grown man just grabbed my leg.

"Nothing surprises me anymore."

He even said he has parents coming up to him comparing their babies to his quads.

"I’m just used to it," Dillon said. "You never know what to expect with it. Have to stay on your toes. Have fun with it."

AJ Dillon went through free agency for first time in NFL career

Dillon is as popular as they come in Wisconsin. He has the key to Door County, even getting the nickname as "the mayor." Fans love him for his accessibility. He's courtside at Bucks games and on stage at Zach Bryan concerts.

The connection is real. He even met his future wife here and is raising his son in northeast Wisconsin.

But for the first time in his NFL career he went through the free agent process this offseason. He said it was a "little weird figuring it all out."

"The cool thing is it’s great to feel wanted," Dillon said.

He said that besides his own career he was thinking about his wife and son in making a decision on the best spot to continue his football career.

"What’s the best situation for us moving forward?" Dillon said he asked himself. "It was great that it worked out that we can stay home, stay in Green Bay, continue to work at the ultimate goal of going ahead and getting a Super Bowl."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: AJ Dillon has dream of winning Super Bowl with Jordan Love, Packers