Dixon has football in his blood

Miami Carol City is always home to some of the top pure athletes in the state of Florida and in the Class of 2004, it’s no exception. That’s especially true with 5-foot-10, 175-pound defensive back A.J. Dixon on the prowl.

Dixon, who rushed for 503 yards on offense this past season but projects as a cover corner in college, has football in his blood. His cousin, Mario Smith, was an all-Big 8 performer at Kansas State. His other cousin, Andre Maddox is at N.C. State, but he said it was Smith that he picked up quite a bit from.

“I learned a lot from him,” Dixon said. “He was a great hitter and I like to play hard like he did.”

And it’s that hard hitting style and his “quick and smooth” style that has already attracted attention and May calls from coaches all over the map.

“Miami, Florida, Alabama, Rutgers, Florida State and N.C. State are my top six teams,” he said. “They’ve been sending me the most stuff. I’ve gotten a lot of calls, too. I think you can also include Central Florida and Wake Forest in that group, too.”

Carol City coach Walt Frazier said he thinks that Dixon will be a very talented college player.

“He has all the tools to be a really special player,” Frazier said. “He could be a very good running back or an even better cornerback. I think that’s where most of the teams are looking at him at.”

Dixon said he has thought about a few things that will be important when the time to make a decision comes.

“Academics and location are keys,” he said. “Those are the two important issues to me.”

Dixon does not have any scholarship offers at this point.