Ben DiNucci makes a habit of setting goals before the start of each football season.
It was no different when the former Pine-Richland standout quarterback — who went on to play college football at Pitt and FCS school James Madison before being selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft — began his tenure with the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons this season.
“You set personal and team goals at the beginning of the year,” DiNucci said. “I think the team goal is probably to win the whole thing.”
After DiNucci led his offense on four consecutive touchdown drives to orchestrate a 28-9 XFL regular-season finale victory against the Vegas Vipers last Sunday, his Seattle team will have a chance to achieve that goal.
The Sea Dragons will travel to the nation’s capital to face the D.C. Guardians at 3 p.m. Sunday in an XFL semifinal playoff game, which will be televised on ESPN. Seattle lost two regular-season games against D.C. by a combined five points.
Then there’s DiNucci’s other goal.
“I feel like I should have another shot to show what I can do in the NFL,” he said. “It’s really been just awesome for me. It’s been fun to just play.
“It’s been a few years, three years, 2019 was the last time to start for a season and be the guy. I’m just going out there every week, getting reps, showing what I can do, having fun.”
DiNucci made the most of this first regular season in the XFL by completing 242 of 374 passes for a 64.7 completion percentage and a league-best 2,671 yards, 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also carried the ball 53 times for 305 yards and three touchdowns, which was tops among all quarterbacks in the XFL.
“He’s grown so much,” said Seattle quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison, who gained a reputation for developing signal callers when he worked with Sea Dragons offensive coordinator June Jones at Southern Methodist University. “The reality is that when you come from a situation or a setting where you’re the backup or you’re on the practice squad the amount of reps you get is very, very limited, extremely limited.”
Before his XFL tenure, DiNucci last saw meaningful action when he appeared in three games with the Cowboys in 2020, starting one game — a 23-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on “Sunday Night Football.”
For DiNucci, who first rose to prominence by throwing for 4,269 yards and 46 touchdowns to lead Pine-Richland to the 2014 WPIAL Class 4A championship, getting a chance to again play regularly has been critical to his continued development.
“He’s gone through the season, and he’ll have well over 600 reps in game settings, and he’ll have well over 1,000 reps in practice settings,” Morrison said. “Those are sometimes the things that can help you go and get better and better and better at things.
“He’s done that to the point where there certainly will be some NFL teams that are probably going to look very closely at bringing him in for a lot of reasons. He’s definitely helped his cause, and we’re very, very happy for that.”
Morrison said DiNucci brings tangible and intangible strengths to Seattle’s offense. He said his quarterback is an eager learner and leader of the Sea Dragons offense.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback also has worked to develop his accuracy and decision-making abilities with Seattle to pair with his propensity to make plays with his feet inside and outside of his team’s offensive game plan, Morrison said.
“He’s so interested in getting better,” he said. “He’s so interested in how do I do this and how do I get this done. There’s a very conscious effort to say, ‘I want to keep growing. I want to keep getting better.’”
And he has done plenty to help his Seattle wide receivers develop as well.
Former Mississippi receiver Jahcour Pearson has flourished playing with DiNucci. He made 60 catches for 670 yards, both tops in the XFL in 2023, while snagging four passes for touchdowns.
Former Cleveland Browns draft pick Josh Gordon, who was selected for the Pro Bowl after collecting an NFL-high 1,646 yards in 2013, is also looking to revitalize his career in the XFL.
Gordon caught 38 passes from DiNucci this season for 540 yards and four touchdowns, while teammate Blake Jackson racked up 45 catches for 440 yards and two scores and Juwan Green contributed 29 catches for 420 yards and crossed the goal line six times.
“All I’ve got to do is get the ball to these guys in space and watch them do what they do,” DiNucci said. “It’s been fun playing in this offense. I’ve got to chuck the ball around a lot, make some plays. It’s been fun to kind of be able to showcase what I can do and what these guys can do and be able to just go out and have some fun and be able to win some games.”
For DiNucci, the immediate goal is to win two more and lead his team to an XFL championship.
If Seattle is able to get past D.C., a title game showdown against the winner of the league’s other semifinal between the Arlington Renegades and Houston Roughnecks looms large.
The Sea Dragons beat Houston, 21-14, in March before knocking off Arlington, 24-15, two weeks later.
“The last few weeks we are really starting to come into our own in this offense,” DiNucci said. “Guys are starting to play well and starting to get really comfortable and confident in what we’re doing, what June is doing. They’ve really given me the keys to this car and let me drive this thing a little bit.
“I think the last few weeks you are starting to see this offense kind of just click week in and week out, and we’re hoping to do it again Sunday.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.