Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
7 0 A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 DEFENSIVE BACKS / / / / / / / 2 0 2 3 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / PSU's supportive team culture has helped senior cornerback Johnny Dixon develop into a playmaker in the secondary S E A N F I T Z | S E A N. F I T Z @ O N 3 . C O M E verything started out so well for Johnny Dixon when he arrived at South Carolina as a freshman in 2019. The Tampa native, now a senior cor- nerback at Penn State, earned a start for the Gamecocks in their season-opening visit to North Carolina, and he recorded his first career interception a week later in his home debut against Charleston Southern. The following month, he was a part of a double-overtime upset of No. 3 Georgia in Athens. But Dixon would learn firsthand that sustaining success in the SEC is no easy task. The Gamecocks won just one of their final six games in 2019 and went 2-8 the following season. Head coach Will Muschamp was shown the door in November 2020, and Shane Beamer was brought aboard a month later. The change was a lot for Dixon to ab- sorb. "It was like a whole new program, from coaches to extra staff that was around the facility," he recalled. "I just decided that I should go somewhere that I was more familiar with and win some games." Dixon entered the transfer portal two days before Christmas in 2020. From there, everything moved fast. Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith was among the first to reach out. The Nittany Lions had recruited Dixon out of Chamberlain High in the class of 2019 and actually hosted him for their White Out game against Ohio State in 2018. While Dixon missed Smith's initial call, he didn't miss a follow-up from a familiar voice. Childhood friend Jordan Miner, a high school star at Wiregrass Ranch High in Wesley Chapel, Fla., reached out on behalf of the Nittany Li- ons. Miner was also a cornerback and a part of Penn State's 2018 class. The two spent their youth playing little league football for the New Tampa Wildcats, and Miner was someone that Dixon looked to for advice during the process. "We had talks about him going into the portal. I knew based off his talent, pretty much knowing him my whole life, that he would be a great addition to the team," Miner said. "So, I reached out to Coach Smith just to see what his inter- est level was. Coach Smith had recruited him from high school as well. John was pretty close to coming to Penn State right out of high school but ended up going to South Carolina." A Challenging Transition Miner shared with Dixon his Penn State experience, which was a positive but complicated tale. Miner arrived as part of a heralded 2018 recruiting class that included such future stars as line- backer Micah Parsons, defensive end Positive Reinforcement Dixon was a versatile player for the Penn State defense last year, ranking sixth in the Big Ten with 10 pass breakups while also totaling 3 sacks. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M