Morgantown, West Virginia – Neal Brown will never, ever forget his 41st birthday!
Prior to the start of the day, one of West Virginia football’s biggest areas of concerns was its obvious lack of depth on defense, particularly at the linebacker position. With All Big 12 Conference 1st Team Linebacker heading to the NFL, a huge void was left in the middle of the Mountaineers’ defense.
Today, that void was filled. Lance Dixon, an ultra-talented linebacker recently transferred from Penn State and appeared to be headed to play for his hometown Michigan Wolverines. Instead, the West Virginia coaching staff somehow convinced him to commit to the Mountaineers.
Although Dixon – rated as the 9th best linebacker prospect in the nation in 2018 – has appeared in 12 games in two seasons (3 as a freshman and 9 games last season as a redshirt freshman), he will still have four full years of eligibility.
Dixon, a 247 Sports five star prospect, isn’t just a typical commitment for the Mountaineers. Dixon is a program-changer, particularly considering the loss of Tony Fields.
According to national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu, Dixon is “a fantastic athlete who posted rare track results for a player his size and is excellent in man-to-man coverage. He runs to the ball with ease and has gotten more comfortable in the box as far as navigating traffic and taking blocks. Dixon’s versatility gives him a chance to be an early round NFL draft pick following his college career.”
In other words, West Virginia’s outstanding 2021 recruiting class – featuring four star prospects Kaden Prather (WR), Jaylen Anderson (RB), Justin Johnson (RB) and Wyatt Milum (OL), as well as Virginia Tech transfer Doug Nester (OL) – just got a whole lot better.
Neal Brown is building something very special in Morgantown and landing a talent like Lance Dixon will be perhaps his greatest birthday gift ever!
