Husky Roster Review: Thaddeus Dixon Acts Like He Belongs

The new cornerback showed some veteran moves in UW spring football.

Dan Raley | May 18, 2023

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Washington Huskies

For all the wondrous things that happened to the University of Washington football team in 2022, with Michael Penix Jr. carving up every secondary he encountered and the edge rushers locking things down in a big way, the Husky secondary looked lost.

Every week, someone got totally turned around and burned in coverage, with cornerbacks repeatedly watching balls sail over their heads and futilely trailing someone to the end zone.

Give the DeBoer coaching staff credit for this approach — when it comes to fixing things, these guys get aggressive and go all in.

The Huskies went out and added five new corners to the program, among them reputable freshmen signees Caleb Presley, Curley Reed and Leroy Bryant, even more encouraging Oklahoma State transfer Jabbar Muhammad and California JC transfer Thaddeus Dixon.

While Muhammad with his big credentials is expected to be ready to play from the outset, and the first-year guys supposedly will struggle some learning technique and the faster pace, Dixon represented the big unknown coming in.

What could he bring as this newcomer from Long Beach City College?

Transfers from two-year stops such as Dixon tend to be big mysteries. They can act confident like seasoned college players or a little overwhelmed like those recently graduated high school seniors.

Dixon tends to lean to the vet level. He has swagger. He'll tell you he has swagger. And, if you're a wide receiver, he'll be all over you like a swarm of bees, using his stinger.

Going down the roster from No. 0 to 99, Dixon, who wears No. 9 on defense, is next up in a series of profiles about each of the Huskies' scholarship players and assorted walk-ons, summing up their spring football performances and surmising what might come next for them.

Thaddeus Dixon is all over the Huskies' All-America candidate Rome Odunze on this pass play during the final spring scrimmage.

Thaddeus Dixon begins to celebrate after intercepting a pass during the Husky spring scrimmage on April 22, with linebacker Austin Harnetiaux coming up to congratulate him.

New cornerback Thaddeus Dixon intercepts a pass intended for Rome Odunze (1) as hybrid Husky Mishael Powell, right, adds to the blanket coverage.

Thaddeus Dixon takes part in a spring football drill that requires him to shove a practice apparatus out of his way, much like he would hand-fight a receiver.

Thaddeus Dixon stares into the chest and number belonging to ace receiver Rome Odunze as he provides press coverage in spring ball.

Thaddeus Dixon comes off a Long Beach City College career in which he had 5 interceptions in two seasons.

Thaddeus Dixon blended in seamlessly with his new UW teammates, among them Oklahoma State transfer Jabbar Muhammad (1) and walk-on Antonio Hill (34).

MONTLAKE TURNAROUND / Skylar Lin Visuals

Thaddeus Dixon spoke of visiting the UW in 2019, courtesy of then defensive-backs coach Will Harris, and four years later he and a newer Husky staff connected.

Thaddeus Dixon says his best cornerback attribute is he's always around his man and the football, making the other guy uncomfortable.

Dixon, surrounded by media people, was asked during spring football to describe himself and what he brings as a cornerback. He was more than ready for the question.

"I want to use my physicality, but I feel I'm real sticky in coverage," he said confidently. "If you're watching, one thing I want you to know is I'm always going to be on my guy. You're always going to see me around the ball, around the guy and making plays on the ball."

If there was ever a time Dixon got turned around in his football career, it was in his recruitment. Coming out of La Mirada High School, he found himself pursued aggressively by Oregon State and Wyoming, committed to the Beavers at one point, after even taking a 2019 trip to the UW, where former DB coach Will Harris was dealing with him.

He ended up with nothing from any of that experience, apparently a victim of the pandemic and he retreated to the JC ranks.

"With COVID, I kind of lost contact with the coaches and that's all she wrote, honestly," Dixon said.

This time, he emerged as the No. 5 or No. 8 nationally ranked junior-college cornerback, according to ESPN and 247 Sports, respectively. He said USC tried to keep him home this time and Oregon State attempted to make amends and offered him again. The Huskies, however, won these Thaddeus Dixon sweepstakes and should benefit by having an improved secondary.

THADDEUS DIXON FILE

Service: Dixon has 15 UW spring practices under his belt, he passed inspection and he remains in the mix for playing time if not pushing for a starting job for the upcoming season.

Stats: He has no official stats for the Huskies, but he intercepted three passes over two consecutive days of scrimmages during spring practice, giving a pretty good indication of what he can do. He had five interceptions in his two seasons at Long Beach City College.

Role: Dixon rotated in and out with the first and second units during spring practice. He's in for a fall camp battle to see if he can beat out sophomore returnee Elijah Jackson for the starting job presumably opposite Oklahoma State transfer Jabbar Muhammad. He should play a lot and well.

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Published May 18, 2023

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.