How Thaddeus Dixon Made a Big Play to Become a Husky Starter

The cornerback beat out the returning Elijah Jackson and took his job.

Thaddeus Dixon gets ready to play the opener against Weber State. / Skylar Lin Visuals

As four Blue Angels fighter jets went screaming over Husky Stadium in late July, the most competitive position battle for the University of Washington football team began in earnest with Thaddeus Dixon and Elijah Jackson running around as the starting cornerbacks on the field below to open fall camp.

They might as well have been Top Gun pilots themselves for all of the loud bravado, pulsating after-burners and daredevil maneuvers that would come from at least one of them over the ensuing month. All that was missing were catchy call signs.

That Dixon and Jackson started out in tandem might have been more of a show of respect for them as veteran UW players and their past performances -- because it would become clear they wouldn't be side by side but battling each other for a No. 1 corner job.

Regardless of the cornerback order that day, it was fairly obvious all along no one was going to beat out Arizona transfer Ephesians Prysock, a 13-game starter and an All-Pac-12 honorable-mention selection who stands an enticing 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds for a coverage guy.

As it turned out, no one was going to unseat Dixon either. It made little difference that Jackson started all 15 Husky games the season before for a national runner-up team and stuck up the hand at the end that saved the Sugar Bowl victory over Texas in New Orleans.

In a rather stunning turnabout, Dixon took the starting job away from Jackson, looking nearly every step of the way that he deserved it. Dixon opened against Weber State in the season opener. For three hours on Saturday night, the 6-foot-1,192-pound senior from Los Angeles was one of the best players on the field at any position in the Huskies' 35-3 victory.

"I think it was sticky coverage," UW coach Jedd Fisch said of the pass defense that night. "There wasn't a lot of open guys."

It was no small feat that Dixon replaced the 6-foot-1, 193-pound Jackson, who was one of just two returning starters from 2023's 14-1 team and a highly capable player in his own right. Dixon was just better.

"I feel like we pushed each other a lot," this personable Dixon said on Tuesday. "The competitor in me, you always want to start."

Jackson didn't lose any of his skills. He wasn't injured. He just came in second to a smack-talking, ball-swatting player who made a big offseason move.

Last year, Dixon emerged from Long Beach Community College to play in 14 games and start one of them, which happened to be against USC in his hometown. He normally played behind Jackson, but in the Trojans game he was next to him as the Huskies opened with an extra defensive back.

Thaddeus Dixon celebrates a pass break-up against Weber State. / Skylar Lin Visuals

The coaching change from Kalen DeBoer to Fisch actually helped more than hurt him in his quest to become a full-time starter. Fisch's staff previously tried to recruit Dixon and knew him better than Jackson. Either way, Dixon never once considered entering the transfer portal and trying something different like a lot of his teammates did.

"I didn't come here for the coaches; I came here for the culture," Dixon said. "I felt like so many DBs have come out of Washington. I really wanted to be part of the great DBs who came out of here and went to play in the NFL."

Thaddeus Dixon lets out his emotion after making a big play against Weber State. / Skylar Lin Visuals

On Saturday, Dixon's game-day routine for Weber State ran counter to his practice regimen -- it began in silence. This cornerback pulled on a set of white headphones and lost himself in whatever he was listening to while seated in the end zone. It was deep meditation.

Once the game began, Dixon helped force the visitors from the Big Sky to punt on the game's opening offensive series with an emphatic pass break-up on third-and-10 from the Husky 30, bringing a field-goal attempt that misfired. As quiet as he was before kickoff, Dixon turned animated in celebration of his initial PBU of the season.

Midway through the second quarter, Dixon did it again, knocking away a Weber State pass on first down from the opposing 30, ultimately forcing another punt and again letting everyone in the stadium know what he had done as he strutted.

He was so focused he didn't see former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, safety Cam Chancellor and linebacker Bobby Wagner, the latter the uncle for UW edge rusher Isaiah Ward and lienbacker Anthony Ward, roaming the sideline during the game.

Thaddeus Dixon comes up with one of his two pass break-ups against Weber State. / Skylar Lin Visuals.

On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Steve Belichick was asked about Dixon's performance and the coach turned to offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll and they joked back and forth about Dixon's trash-talking ability in Montlake.

"Thad's a good kid," Belichick said. "He brings some good energy to the team. Talking smack to the offense is good energy for the team, good camaraderie and he loves his teammates. It's. always good fun when they're out there at practice and I appreciate it."

The defensive back himself smiles when asked about his conversational skills but said he's tried to draw a line when and where he lets words fly.

"I try to steer clear of talking in the game," Dixon said unconvincingly. "I don't want to get no penalties. But if I make a good play, I'm going to let them hear it, for sure."

So far, everyone has heard Dixon coming this season -- his UW football coaches, his teammate Elijah Jackson, his first opponent Weber State and maybe even NFL scouts looking for a confident, vocal and fast-rising player.

In the opener, Dixon took off like one of those jets that previously flew overhead and immediately made you look skyward. All he needs now is a cool nickname such as "Maverick" or "Iceman" plastered on his helmet.

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