We’re already out of the 70s, meaning the countdown time warp IS functional. Since we have just 69 days left until the opener, we’ll take a look at #69 on the Bronco roster—Austin Dixon
#69, Austin Dixon, RS Freshman, OT
Stats
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 290 lbs (+25)
High School: Corona del Sol High School, Tempe, AZ
How'd he get to the Blue™?
Dixon represents a growing Arizona pipeline for the Broncos—and it's no surprise that former long-time assistant Scott Huff, an Arizona native himself, jumped on the fellow Grand Canyon State talent. Dixon hopped aboard the blue and orange wagon fairly close to signing day and held on for the final week or so until he could make it official. A 3-star offensive tackle at Corona del Sol, and the number one rated OT in the state, the big man was named All-Section and All-City first team as a senior, all while helping his squad to the Arizona state playoffs. Dixon also played volleyball for his high school, which leads me to believe we'll see him spiking defensive ends in the near future. Aside from Dixon's Bronco offer, he'd fielded offers from Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico State, Purdue, Weber State, and Wyoming.
Nickname
"City Limits"
This Saturday: Merle Haggard and The Pretenders
Look-alike
Fellow Bronco (but the hoops variety) David Wacker
Career Highlights
Made Dean’s List in 2017 with a 3.93 GPA. All-section and All-city first teamer as a senior. Named a "scholar baller" at Corona del Sol for having a GPA above 3.5.
2017 Prospectus
I don’t know if Dixon is going to become a staple on the O-line in this, his redshirt freshman season—but I do know I’m excited for the day when he will. Dixon’s long frame and athleticism makes him an ideal tackle candidate and one that the Broncos could do a lot with. At first, I was tempted to write about Dixon’s long arms and the role they might play in his game, but this PFF article (sadly) showed there is less correlation between arm-length and OT play than initially thought, so we’ll just have to use athleticism as our key differentiator with Austin.
If you ever see your offensive tackle moonlighting as a basketball star or, in Dixon’s case, a volleyball standout...you can bet that they can move pretty well, and with defensive rush ends all the rage, you want some athletes on your O-line keeping them at bay. I’m still not sure whether Dixon will line up at right tackle or left tackle, so we won’t know until fall camp who his main competition will be, but I think he can handle himself well, as suggested by outgoing lineman Mario Yakoo:
Is he on Twitter?
He is, and can be found at @Dix6n. He doesn’t tweet much, but he retweets plenty, and this one is certainly worthy of a share.
Great time with the Assistance league today! pic.twitter.com/1nZoQxFW7l
— 4️⃣'s (@Nicktree4) October 28, 2016
Completely made up fact
At 6’6”, Dixon is used to hearing the question, “how’s the weather up there?” but would prefer that those questions are directed at a 6’6” meteorologist.