OXFORD | Kris Dillard’s face trembles when she goes back mentally to that day almost six years ago.

All the worry and the fear of the unknown crash back to focus, to the anxious panic she felt when she was eight hours away from her son, Thomas Dillard, and she could only ride and wait and cry and pray while his prognosis played out in the Mississippi Delta.

“That day,” Kris Dillard said while quickly fighting back tears, “was so tough because I didn’t have answers and we didn’t know what was to come. I just didn’t know.”

A “perfect storm” summer 7-on-7 football injury in July 2013 put Thomas Dillard’s life — and athletic career — in jeopardy, setting off a series of events that changed his path and added increased perspective to a family simply happy to have their son and brother healthy and happy.

At first, it seemed to be a significant blow and an unlucky turn, but as time passed, the circumstances in those hours, days and weeks developed a positive tint. With Thomas Dillard’s junior season, and potentially his Ole Miss career, wrapping up this summer, the Dillards’ hope for the correct path has been rewarded.

“It’s in the past and it led us here,” Thomas’ dad, Tom, said. “Things work out. The Lord was with us.”

Dillard, a switch hitting outfielder, who is also proficient at catcher, leads Ole Miss in total bases, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He’s a primary cog in the Rebels’ bid to defend their SEC West and SEC Tournament titles, and there’s a good chance he’s selected in the top five rounds of the MLB First Year Player Draft this June.

But way before all that happened, Dillard hit a right-handed golf club left-handed and revealed an aptitude, while still in diapers, for a variety of sports that has defined the majority of his life.

“We got him some little clubs and started him with a junior set but he was left-handed and these were right-handed clubs,” Tom said. “He’d swing it like a hockey stick with the back of the club and hardly ever miss. You notice there’s hand-eye coordination.”

Golf hit a high point with Thomas when he won the Mississippi state championship as a 7-year-old and advanced to a U.S. Kids World Championship in Williamsburg, Virginia.

“We just wanted to tee it up and see how far we could hit it,” Tom said. “Half of the kids were international and one kid from Columbia had a trainer and a nutritionist with him. I laughed the whole time.”

Tom entertained the idea of switch hitting since Thomas swung every bat or club left-handed but was right-hand dominant in his daily activities. Some early promise from the right side resulted in Thomas playing his 7-year-old coach pitch season all right-handed. By 12 years old, Thomas switch hit exclusively.

An accomplished youth soccer player and a shooting guard on the basketball court, Thomas’ youth revolved around whatever sport was in season. In the same weekend when he was 12 years old he played in the Mississippi State Games for soccer in Meridian and the baseball state championship in Canton.

“We drove back and forth and changed outfits in the car,” Kris said.

But as time moved on, football, basketball and baseball moved to the forefront for Dillard. Always a well-built, athletic kid, he played most positions on the baseball field and excelled at running back and linebacker in football at an early age.

Dillard began his high school career at Pillow Academy in Greenwood, Mississippi, and there was the idea of moving to a spread scheme to accommodate him as the quarterback.

“I definitely could have played football past high school,” Thomas said. “I don’t know if I could have played at Ole Miss or anything like that, but probably could have had a chance somewhere as a 6-foot, 230-pound linebacker running a 4.6-4.7 (40-yard dash).”

A strange set of events ended that possibility on a football field six years ago this July.

A couple weeks from starting 10th grade, Dillard was finishing up summer baseball with elite travel organization Dulins Dodgers at a tournament in Gulf Shores, Alabama. With that completed and little downtime around academics and all the various sports, the Dillards decided to stay near the water for a bit of an impromptu vacation.

Friends and family joined them for a leisurely few days until Tim Dulin, the owner of Dulins Dodgers, called to tell Thomas Ole Miss wanted him to visit Oxford that coming Monday. With that on deck, Tom drove Thomas back to Greenwood in anticipation of a trip to Oxford.

And with Thomas back in town, he changed plans and joined his teammates at a 7-on-7 scrimmage at JZ George High School that Monday morning prior to his appointment with Ole Miss.

“He wasn't even supposed to go to football that morning, but it made sense since they were back,” Kris said.

Dillard played linebacker during the passing competition and during an attempted pass break-up a teammate kneed him in the stomach. Initially he thought the breath was knocked out of him, but after a few minutes it seemed more serious.

“I felt a sharp pain and laid on the sideline,” Dillard said. “I told the coaches I needed to go to the hospital and after a few minutes they had me loaded up. I text my dad that maybe I had a broken rib and was fine but that something was up with my stomach.”

Tom said: “When I got to the hospital he was just laying on the floor. I knew something was up because that’s not like him. He went into surgery pretty quickly.”

The knee to the stomach caused Thomas’ pancreas and small intestines to separate where connected, spilling any contents out into his body. It also injured his pancreas and required an emergency operation.

Dillard’s breakfast that morning was only a Powerade, so there was little substance to spill out. Much more could have resulted in an even direr situation.

“More than the drink would have been a really bad thing,” Kris said. “Tom almost took him home and let him rest. He was bleeding internally. He never would have woken up. The Lord was really looking after us.”

Kris packed her bags and left the beach after first hearing Thomas was on the way to the hospital. She relied on phone calls, but for the first part of the drive her only update was Tom telling her, “It’s not good and there’s not a good prognosis.”

“We were in the car trying to get back,” Kris remembered through tears. When he got out of surgery the doctor said he needed to see the family and that’s how he phrased it. (Thomas’ sister) Rachel (Walker) calls me and we lose service multiple times so I was scared something happened because I didn’t know for a little while. He was fine, but I was a wreck.”

Thomas said: “I woke up not knowing anything and first thing I asked my mom is if I can play football anymore.”

Dillard spent 10 days in the Greenwood hospital and tried to resume as many normal activities as possible during his first days at home. There were setbacks and three emergency room visits in the first two weeks after he was discharged.

Then one day the wound ruptured and opened back up. That led to a change of plans, as he also developed pancreatitis.

“We needed to see a specialist and figure it out,” Tom said. “They transported him by ambulance to Le Bonheur. It was the greatest thing we ever did.”

Dillard spent two weeks in the Memphis children’s hospital and lost between 35 and 40 pounds during the entire ordeal — weighing between 170 and 175 pounds at his smallest. A team of doctors slowly improved his condition, and the removal of his gallbladder was the final turning point back to health.

“Tube down his throat and couldn’t eat and there were two IV poles because he had so much hooked to him,” Kris said. “He couldn’t even swallow spit. It was rough… Two weeks of that and they figured it out. He hasn’t had one single problem since then. It’s been a miracle.”

Dillard didn’t do any sports-related work until November or December, and it was a six-month recovery to get back to approximately full strength. Ole Miss offered him prior to the injury and stuck with him during the rehabilitation.

He committed in January 2014.

“After the initial surgery I knew I was going to be OK,” Thomas said. “I knew with the type of work ethic we’d put into things I’d be OK. The only reason I’m at Ole Miss playing is because of my dad. He’s put in countless hours with me and I knew with the work we’d built I’d get back.”

Ole Miss pitching coach Carl Lafferty said: “We believed in him the whole time. We wanted him to get healthy and knew he’d have a spot from us whenever the time came and he was ready.”

Former LSU pitcher Louis Coleman, the Royals' fifth round pick the 2009 MLB Draft, attended Pillow Academy and would persuade teachers to get Dillard out of class in junior high to throw with the much-older Coleman. That relationship ignited an interest in LSU, and the Tigers were a significant player for Dillard prior to his injury.

Things fizzled in the six months following Dillard’s surgery, but some other options lingered around the Ole Miss opportunity One turning point featured advice from six-time MLB All-Star and Ole Miss two-sport All-America selection Don Kessinger.

“Other SEC schools were interested and several he could have gone to, but at end of day it was what Don told him that was really smart," Tom said. "‘Think of yourself 30 years from now and where do you want to take your kids back to and go on Thanksgiving?'All options were good, but our family is Ole Miss.

Kris said: “He wanted to go to LSU. The football accident changed the trajectory. They told us they were offering and the accident happened and we just waited. But after the accident he decided Ole Miss was home and that’s where he wanted to be. That accident clarified everything for us.”

Dillard left Pillow for Briarcrest in Memphis during his sophomore year and after initially entertaining football there he gave the sport up. With his baseball ability and health history, the family made the decision despite doctors giving him the OK. It remains a bit of a regret, but Dillard still believes in his decision.

“It’s something I live with everyday still,” Dillard said. “Football is a sport I love and I’ll think about late at night whether I should have played football in high school. It was the right decision, even with the thoughts, to not to hurt myself anymore.”

Dillard replaced football with the Briarcrest bowling team during his junior year and can still break 200 on some days. After a lifetime of playing multiple sports, it filled time and helped mark his approximately 18 months at the Memphis private school.

One of the reasons Dillard moved to Briarcrest was to play for Dulin, but the assistant coach wasn't retained after one season with the program. That eventually led to Dillard transferring to Oxford High School for his senior year.

“I grew up around Oxford and my family has a history and his sisters are here,” said Tom, whose father, Wilson, played halfback for Ole Miss in the early 1950s. “It was a perfect decision.”

The Chargers won back-to-back state titles and featured four Ole Miss signees in the class — including current Rebels Houston Roth and Grae Kessinger. Dillard hit a walk-off home run at Trustmark Park to run-rule Hattiesburg in the state final and led the nation with 16 home runs.

Dillard entertained scouts in the lead-up to the 2016 MLB Draft but eventually chose college baseball at Ole Miss. The Rebels kept their entire signing class intact and finished No. 1 nationally in the enrolled rankings.

Six members of that high school signing class remain, and it’s possible most or all move on following this season. For the group that brought in more expectations than arguably any class in program history, it’s about enjoying their days together while also trying to accomplish team goals — with the hope of replacing last season’s finish with a finale more fitting their incoming ranking.

“We can’t sit back anymore,” Dillard said. “It’s more a leadership role for us now.”

As for Kris and Tom they have attended every game this season, trying to slow down time and savor what could be the final weeks of a college career they all worked so hard to achieve and enjoy. The friendships and memories remain, but the days together with other parents and their sons are finite.

“It means everything to be here,” Dillard said. “Just playing makes this a great experience.”