The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1340560
2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY EJ HOLLAND Most states were able to navigate around the COVID-19 pandemic and play at least a partial prep football season this past fall. Unfortunately for Michigan signee Cristian Dixon, that list did not include California. Dixon was in store for a big senior season with national powerhouse Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, which was projected to be in the running for a high school national champion- ship. However, the Rivals250 wide receiver never got the opportunity. With California quickly canceling high school football, Dixon spent the entire 2020 calendar year training on his own. He got in work wherever he could, even flying down to Houston to work alongside Alabama wide- out Jaylen Waddle and top personal trainer Ro Simon. Then Dixon got a special phone call in December. He received an in- vitation to play in the Pylon 7-on-7 All-American Game at AT&T Sta- dium (home of the Dallas Cowboys) in Arlington, Texas, with fellow Michigan signees J.J. McCarthy and Junior Colson. "I feel like I'm blessed that I got this opportunity," Dixon said. "Hon- estly, I feel like I was stiffed for the All-American Bowl. But it's all good. It's an honor to play and go against guys that I'm going to be playing with and against at the next level." The event gave Dixon the unique opportunity to build a rapport with McCarthy before they stepped foot on campus. McCarthy, the No. 4 pro- style quarterback and No. 44 overall prospect in the country, and Dixon went through practice together and shared the field in the official game for a bit before Dixon went out with a hamstring injury. While their time together at Pylon was brief, Dixon and McCarthy were able to get a jump-start on what's to come in Ann Arbor. "I feel like it's big," Dixon said. "It's always important for receivers and their quarterback to have that connection. I need to have a relation- ship now because he's going to have that starting job eventually. I feel like going through this is going to help our relationship grow on and off the field." Dixon, the No. 33 wide receiver and No. 201 overall recruit nationally per Rivals.com, turned some heads in Texas. The 6-2, 187-pounder runs routes like a small guy, has an im- pressive catch radius and immedi- ately established himself as the alpha dog of the wide receiver group. While he did exit the game early, Dixon flashed enough at practice to catch the attention of all-star game head coach J.R. Niklos, who played at Ohio State and spent some time in the NFL. "He had a great practice," Niklos said. "He's a big-bodied receiver. He high pointed the ball. We had him matched up against our best cor- ner, and he was taking him down. That's what you want. You want mismatches from those types of bod- ies. We definitely missed him in the game and needed him towards the end." Cristian Dixon Is Ready To Provide Whatever U-M Needs Dixon helped powerhouse Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei finish No. 2 nationally per MaxPreps in 2019, while hauling in 35 passes for 611 yards and six scores. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 42 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2021 2021 Projection A player who prides himself on the technical side of route running, Dixon will work hard to see the field early. He could end up in the back- end of the rotation for the Wolver- ines early on, playing behind the likes of returning veterans Ronnie Bell, Cornelius Johnson, Giles Jack- son and others. U-M has numbers at receiver but likes to rotate plenty, leaving the door open for some freshman-year snaps for Dixon.