Vols land explosive Georgia athlete

Decatur (Ga.) Southwest Dekalb athlete Marcques Dixon has got four teammates heading to SEC programs: two to Georgia, one to Vanderbilt and one to Auburn. Up until recently, Dixon - who may be the most explosive athlete of the bunch - was without an SEC offer. On Monday, that changed and he became the fifth Southwest Dekalb player to commit to the SEC.

Coach Ed Orgeron from the University of Tennessee was on an in-home visit to see Dixon on Monday after previously giving the versatile athlete a verbal offer. On the in-home visit, an official offer came and a commitment from Dixon followed.

"Coach Orgeron, he came in and talked to me and broke down the roster and his plans for me for the future," Dixon said. "I really thought it through and I think Tennessee is one of those teams with a bright future and I wanted to be a part of it."

Dixon had visited Tennessee unofficially for the Halloween South Carolina game and enjoyed his experience. He also had the opportunity to meet some other Tennessee recruits when they played in the Chik-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta.

"Coach O kind of broke down the guys that they're recruiting," he said. "When Tennessee came down to practice for their bowl game I got to meet and mingle with some of the other recruits. Coach Orgeron broke down the roster and explained how I'd be taken care of on the field and that kind of pushed me over."

This season, Dixon scored on punt returns, kick returns, interception returns, runs and receptions. He is undoubtedly one of the most explosive players with the ball in his hands in the state of Georgia and now he will do whatever Tennessee needs him to do in the SEC.

"[Orgeron] said they were looking forward to having me and that I'm one of the top recruits that they were looking at," he said. "I'll play defense and also offense and special teams and do whatever I can to help."

Excited about the commitment, Dixon was even more excited to compete against his high school teammates well into their college careers.

"It was pretty much a relief," he said of the decision. "With my other four teammates choosing SEC schools that also played an influence a lot. It'll be great to play against each other on the next level. Just being able to stay in contact with each other and see how we develop."

Dixon will be taking his official visit to Tennessee the weekend of the 22nd and also will take another look at Southern Miss and Miami - who have both offered officially - before he signs on February 3rd. He also had increasing interest from Alabama and Cincinnati as well as offers from Central Michigan and UAB.

"I still have some interest in Southern Miss and Miami but I'm pretty solid to Tennessee," he said. "Those schools have a chance at changing my mind."

Dixon will visit Southern Miss officially on January 15th and visit Miami officially on January 28th.