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Penn State Football Transfer Round-Up: DB John Dixon

We're continuing a detailed look at the new arrivals within the Penn State football program in the coming days and weeks, which includes six transfers and another eight high school prospects being welcomed into the Nittany Lion family. With winter workouts beginning on Tuesday and the transfers and early enrollees already on campus and working with the program, we first touched on graduate transfer running back John Lovett out of Baylor.

We'll shift our attention today to cornerback John Dixon, a second-year performer coming from South Carolina.

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Just three days after Christmas, John Dixon made the call.

A former Rivals four-star prospect in the Class of 2019 who had been recruited by the Nittany Lions out of Chamberlain High School in Tampa, Fla., Dixon was already familiar with Penn State. And following two seasons at South Carolina with head coach Will Muschamp, who’d been fired by the Gamecocks on Nov. 15, the choice to migrate north to Happy Valley crystallized.

“I want to say I’m thankful for the staff at USC and my brothers that still play there. After a lot of thought and prayer Me and my family have made the decision for me to transfer and play for The Penn State University,” Dixon wrote in a post on Twitter.

The move was not a surprise for a variety of factors, both the transfer out of South Carolina as well as Penn State’s ultimate standing as Dixon’s landing spot.

According to Collyn Taylor, a reporter covering the South Carolina football program for Rivals site GamecockCentral, Dixon’s transfer out was a blow to the program but not something unexpected given the circumstances of his second season in Columbia.

“I wasn't shocked at him opting to transfer. He was recruited by Will Muschamp and defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson, who were both fired in November, and him opting to leave after that wasn't all too shocking whatsoever,” Taylor said. “I think fans generally expected that but knew he was a big loss because of how solid he was early in his career. What did shock me a little was him ending up at Penn State; since he's from Florida, I thought he would end up a little closer to home.”

Dixon’s relationship with James Franklin and the Nittany Lion coaching staff and program proved to be a differentiating factor, though.

Having already been to Penn State for an official visit for the Nittany Lions’ whiteout game against Ohio State in September 2019, Dixon reported then to having had been blown away by the experience.

“I’ve been to some big games down here, but they were nothing like what I saw up at Penn State,” Dixon said. “It was loud from start to finish. It was completely different. Everyone was up at all parts of the game. It was just a completely different vibe than anything I’ve experienced before.”

Ultimately landing at South Carolina, Dixon immediately made his mark with the Gamecocks as a true freshman during the 2019 season.

Appearing as a backup in his first year, Dixon saw 105 total reps for the season, making two tackles while making an interception in the Gamecocks’ win against Charleston Southern late in the year. He followed the effort, though, with a sophomore campaign that included eight starts in 10 games, finishing with 555 total snaps. In that stretch, he compiled 34 tackles and three passes broken up while allowing 316 yards on 24 receptions while being targeted 42 times, according to PFF's advanced metrics. He also tabbed five passes defended and a fumble recovery on the stat page.

Still, despite making his mark in a cornerback room that included Israel Mukuamu and Jaycee Horn, both of whom are headed to the NFL, in his two seasons in the program, Taylor explained that Dixon’s just scratching the surface of his potential as a player.

“Dixon's nowhere close to a finished product, but he's a really good coverage corner who can play at the line of scrimmage,” Taylor said. “He did well on balls in the air and was one of the team's better man coverage defensive backs. He, like a lot of South Carolina's defensive backs, struggled to limit big plays downfield. He needs to be better tackling on the perimeter and consistency is a big issue for him.”

With four years to complete three remaining seasons of eligibility at Penn State, Dixon will get that opportunity to come closer to his potential under the tutelage of corners coach Terry Smith.

“I think there's a lot of room for improvement. He has a lot of tools that still need to be sharpened, especially zone coverage skill and tackling,” Taylor said. “He's still pretty young and I think there's a chance he could develop into a starter at the Big Ten level. He definitely had the talent to start in the SEC next season if he stayed at South Carolina.”

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