LINCOLN — Nebraska football’s immediate roster makeover continued Sunday when the Huskers accepted their second transfer player in a week.
Ole Miss transfer Breon Dixon committed to NU and will start classes next week. He joins quarterback Noah Vedral — who came back to Nebraska from Central Florida — and five junior college transfers, four of whom are already on campus. Dixon was the first commit of the recruiting weekend and may not be the last, although none of the high school prospects who visited for the weekend had officially committed by Sunday night.
At 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, Dixon could play a variety of positions for Nebraska — outside linebacker, safety, even corner in a nickel or dime package. He had five tackles as a true freshman at Ole Miss and chose to transfer, like some of his former teammates, when the Rebels’ bowl ban for recruiting violations was extended an extra year by the NCAA. In a previous World-Herald interview, Dixon said he felt misled by former Rebel coach Hugh Freeze — who, before he was fired, assured 2017 recruits the damage to Ole Miss would be minimal — and subsequently buried on the depth chart so other teams couldn’t see what kind of player he was.
Nebraska’s new coaching staff remembered. Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander — and tight ends coach Sean Beckton, who recruits Atlanta, Dixon’s hometown — tried to recruit Dixon to UCF. They offered a scholarship to NU, as well. A consensus four-star recruit who was rated as ESPN’s No. 144 overall prospect in the 2017 recruiting class, Dixon attended the same high school — Loganville (Georgia) Grayson — as current Husker inside ‘backer Mohamed Barry, and Dixon, like Barry, is trained in Atlanta by ex-Husker Eric Johnson.
Dixon will appeal for and expects to be granted immediate eligibility along with the rest of the Mississippi transfers, including new Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson.
“Jim Harbaugh’s going to fight hard for Shea to be eligible and I figure once he gets it, the rest of us will,” Dixon said said in early January.
NU beat out Wisconsin for Dixon’s services, in part because of coach continuity. Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard just completed his first season.
“Coach Leonhard’s a great coach, and I’m not sure he’s going to be at Wisconsin very long,” Dixon said. “He’s probably going to be a head coach soon.”
NU hosted several high school prospects this weekend including Avon (Connecticut) Old Farms Prep School defensive end Casey Rogers, Independence (Missouri) Chrisman defensive end Daniel Carson, Bergen County (New Jersey) Catholic pass rusher Javontae Jean-Baptiste, Lawrenceville (Georgia) Archer cornerback Taiyon Palmer, Lithonia (Georgia) Miller Grove pass rusher Caleb Tannor, Ft. Lauderdale (Florida) American Heritage offensive weapon Miles Jones, Norco (California) offensive guard Jarrett Bell and Orlando (Florida) Dr. Phillips’ defensive back Braxton Clark. Mansfield (Texas) safety Cam’ron Jones visited unofficially.
