Ranking the Contenders: WR Cristian Dixon
In late April, four-star receiver Cristian Dixon released his top list of Nebraska, USC, Texas A&M, Oregon, Michigan, Cal, Washington State and LSU.
The Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout has visited all those schools except Texas A&M and Washington State, but Dixon is not in any rush to make a decision.
There are some schools that have emerged as frontrunners from Dixon’s longer list but things remain slightly uncertain in his recruitment because on June 2, the four-star said on social media that there’s a “high chance” he goes to a school that’s not even on his top list.
That might have been a headfake, but it also speaks to the tenuous nature of the recruiting process and where things could be headed, especially with the coronavirus travel ban in effect until at least the end of July.
Still, some programs have an edge in Dixon’s recruitment heading through the summer and into his senior season.
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RANKING THE CONTENDERS: Tony Grimes | Nyland Green
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
MORE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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1. MICHIGAN
A lot of signs are pointing in the favor of the Wolverines when it comes to Dixon’s recruitment, especially his relationship with offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. The four-star receiver likes that he would be a big-bodied outside receiver for the Wolverines and he likes the comparisons made of Chris Godwin and DeVonta Smith.
Dixon and his family have also struck a strong relationship with coach Jim Harbaugh. His mother seems sold on Dixon heading to Ann Arbor and playing for that coaching staff.
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2. CAL
If there’s a school closer to home that could snag Dixon in his recruitment, it would be Cal as the four-star has a good understanding of how many receivers have come through the program in recent years – Keenan Allen comes to mind – and that could be big for the Mater Dei standout.
Dixon has also developed a good bond with Burl Toler and that could be big. It might also be important that Dixon works out with Las Vegas Raiders receiver Keelan Doss, who was coached by Toler at UC Davis, so he’s said good things about the receivers coach as well.
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3. OREGON
After Michigan and Cal, there might be a slight drop-off in the remaining schools for Dixon, who is still very interested in Oregon and has been for a long time. He called Oregon one of his childhood dream schools recently and Dixon said he felt “like home” during his visit to Eugene.
Those are all very good signs for Oregon in his recruitment, plus coach Mario Cristobal has shown the ability to come into Southern California and get a lot of top prospects.
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4. LSU
Competition and development are two of the reasons why Dixon likes LSU. It’s no wonder since the Tigers are coming off the national championship and the SEC power is always loaded at cornerback, so Dixon would get great work every day.
That is especially true not only with Derek Stingley there but Elias Ricks coming in - and Dixon knows just how good those players are. LSU already has two very talented receivers in the 2021 class in JoJo Earle and Deion Smith, but Dixon remains very interested.