PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Flip Dixon has stepped into the Rutgers defense in a major way, putting together a strong first season in New Jersey. His path to Rutgers may have been unconventional, but he is certainly making an impression as the Scarlet Knights head into a grueling stretch of Big Ten play.
A December addition in the transfer portal, Dixon was a solid contributor at Minnesota the past three seasons. In 2022, he posted 28 tackles and three passes defended, both career-highs.
This season, he has already surpassed those numbers from a year ago. Dixon already has 36 tackles and three passes defended as well as an interception.
On Saturday in a loss at Wisconsin in Big Ten play, Dixon had five total tackles (four solo).
“Flip is a great addition to our defense, to our secondary,” head coach Greg Schiano said after practice on Wednesday.
“Smart, tough, dependable player – really fit right in from the jump. And it was great, fortunately, coach Harasymiak had a relationship. So that’s probably why…the only reason he’s here. He’s from Georgia. He was at Minnesota and now he’s in New Jersey. So we’re very fortunate to have him.”
In 2020, Dixon played in two games at Minnesota as a redshirt freshman. Then he played in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, which means that season will not count against his eligibility.
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That means that Dixon will have two years of eligibility left after this season if he wants to continue pursuing college football.
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On Saturday, Rutgers will continue their Big Ten schedule when they host Michigan State in a noon kickoff at SHI Stadium.