From the OWH
Ole Miss defensive back Breon Dixon eyeing transfer to Nebraska
A defensive athlete who played as a true freshman at Mississippi is eyeing a mid-January transfer to Nebraska.
Breon Dixon, who had five tackles this season for the Rebels, is visiting the Huskers Jan. 12-14. If he likes it — and he expects to — he’ll start classes at NU directly after the visit.
The other finalist, Wisconsin, was Dixon’s favorite until Nebraska entered the picture in late December after he talked to coach Scott Frost. Dixon said he liked that Frost was bringing his entire Central Florida defensive staff with him to Lincoln, creating continuity with defensive coordinator Erik Chinander.
“Coach Frost wants to build it at Nebraska just like they did at UCF,” said Dixon, who out of Loganville (Ga.) Grayson High was a four-star recruit, according to the 247Sports composite. The 5-foot-11, 206-pound Dixon trains in Atlanta with former Husker linebacker Eric Johnson and is good friends with current Nebraska inside linebacker Mohamed Barry, who also played at Grayson.
Dixon committed to Ole Miss, then stuck with the Rebels on signing day 2017, he said, because then-coach Hugh Freeze told him the school wouldn’t receive more than a one-year bowl ban for NCAA rules violations. Ole Miss fired Freeze before the season, and the bowl ban has been extended. Several players left the program as a result, including Dixon, who said the Rebels’ coaching staff tried to “hide” some of the young talent on the depth chart so other teams wouldn’t notice.
Nebraska is recruiting Dixon as a hybrid outside linebacker/nickelback. He could play near the line of scrimmage or cover slot receivers and tight ends in Chinander’s 3-4 defense. Dixon said he’d lobby for immediate eligibility, much like former Rebels quarterback Shea Patterson will after transferring to Michigan.
“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.
Dixon had talked to Michigan about a potential transfer, as well as Florida State, Arizona State and Wisconsin. Nebraska’s defensive coaching staff, Dixon said, may have more stability than Wisconsin’s, where 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.”
Dixon said he may cancel his visit to Wisconsin.