Rivals250 cornerback Johnny Dixon was one of multiple prospects that took an official visit to Penn State at the end of September for the game against Ohio State.
Back in June, he got his first taste of State College when he spent the weekend on campus for an unofficial visit. That made this most recent trip Dixon's first experience inside Beaver Stadium for a game. As expected, he left impressed.
“I’ve been to some big games down here, but they were nothing like what I saw up at Penn State,” said Dixon.
“It was loud from start to finish. Really, it was completely different. Everyone was up at all parts of the game. It was just a completely different vibe than anything I’ve experienced before.”
A native of Tampa, Fla., Dixon grew up with Class of 2018 Penn State commit Jordan Miner. Since signing with the Lions last December, Miner has been forced to retire due to a heart condition, but he’s still part of the team. That’s why James Franklin and his staff chose Miner to host Dixon during his visit.
“The minute I got there, I noticed the energy right away,” said Dixon, “I love the vibe you get from their coaches. But my host was Jordan Miner, who I’ve been friends with for a long time. We’re both from the same area and have been friends since we were kids, so it was a lot of fun to spend a weekend with him.
“We mainly just hung out. He introduced me to some of the players on the team and things like that, but we mainly just hung out and caught up on some things.”
In addition to the Lions, Dixon narrowed his list of schools to Alabama, Florida, Miami, Ohio State and South Carolina back in May. Since then, it’s become clear that Florida and Miami are the main competitors. In fact, he'll likely take visits to both schools in the coming weeks.
However, he also made it clear that Penn State left an excellent impression, one that will give him plenty to think about in the weeks and months ahead.
“They like me a lot and have shown me a lot of different reasons why Penn State is a great fit for me moving forward,” said Dixon. “After that visit, there’s nothing that I can see that would prove that wrong. There’s so much that I like there."
He added, "They’re just very genuine people. I know that I’ll never have to question anything they tell me.”
Dixon is currently ranked No. 240 overall in the Class of 2019. He's the 25th-ranked cornerback and the 27th-ranked player in Florida.