Dylan Dixson, CU's first 2022 commit, prepares for his official visit
Dylan Dixson, Colorado's first Class of 2022 verbal commitment, will finally get his chance to check out the school he's been pledged to for just over four months on June 14, when he'll fly in to Boulder for an official visit.
Dixson will be in town through the 18th, as he plans to stay another day on his own dime following his official visit to hang out with his family and check things out in Boulder further, which will likely include trying to scope out some locations to go fishing.
The Pearland, Texas native recently encountered a team from Boulder at a 7-on-7 tournament, where he picked their brains for thing to do and places to visit while he's there.
With the NCAA recruiting dead period now officially over after nearly 16 months, Dixson will finally be able see in-person where home for the next three to four years will be.
“I’m very excited," he said. "I’ve been talking to a few people in Boulder — we played in a 7-on-7 tournament in Dallas and we had a team from Boulder. I was talking with them and on social media, they let me in about a few spots to go to that I’d like and I’m just very excited. I’ve been looking forward to this.”
Dixson has worked to get to know his fellow Class of 2022 commits and in particular, those who also hail from Texas.
He had Pearland teammates who competed with quarterback Owen McCown at the recent Elite 11 camp in Dallas, while he's also gotten to know Keyshon Mills through 7-on-7 competition.
As he heads into his official visit, Dixson's prior conversations with Brett Maxie indicate that he'll start out his Colorado career at safety.
While his listing and film at Pearland paint him as a hybrid OLB/S, Dixson sounded like he was comfortable playing wherever assigned.
After all, he currently plays linebacker but as a sophomore saw action at safety.
Prior to that, he hadn't even ever played defense, as he was more of a wide receiver and dating back to pee-wee ball, played on offense, as well.
"Right now I’m at Sam backer but last year I played the rover safety so it’s in between," he said. "Honestly, I’ve never really focused on a position. I was brought up on being able to play all over, so wherever they need me or whatever I need to do to win, I’m there...I’ve never been stuck at one position for my whole life.”
While his eventual role within Colorado's defense may well wind up looking different than what he's doing at Pearland, Dixson appreciates how playing linebacker helps one hone in on offensive tendencies.
For Dixson in particular, watching the offensive tackle is how indicators are detected as towards what the offense is going to do on a given play.
“I feel like my responsibility as a backer is to look at the tackle," he said. "Whatever the tackle tells me, that’s what I’m doing. He can only tell me three things: he’s passing, he’s coming to get me or he’s blocking down(field). There’s really nothing to it; it’s just see the football and go get the football."
Dixson also mentioned how Pearland's 3-3-5 defense has helped him be more individually effective in stopping the run.
Specifically, knowing that he has additional backup behind him in the form of an extra defensive back, Dixson will take that as an opportunity to be more aggressive in pursuit when teams try a pitch or run to the outside in general.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder has the background and potential to wear a lot of different hats in college once he joins the Buffs and learns the playbook.