2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 3 Johnny Dixon

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.

Next up in our run through the roster is Johnny Dixon, a senior cornerback who is a top candidate to land a starting job in the Penn State secondary this fall. Dixon has shown improvements during his time on the field in the Penn State defense and he could be gearing up for his best season yet in the defensive backfield.

Preseason Player Profile

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Hometown: Tampa, FL

Height: 6-0

Weight: 193

247Sports Composite Ranking

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

[3-stars] | [No. 49 in Florida] | [No. 43 overall cornerback]

Class in 2023: Senior

Penn State didn’t originally recruit Johnny Dixon to State College. Instead, Dixon started his college career at South Carolina as a member of the Gamecocks’ Class of 2019. Dixon spent one season with the program before deciding to enter the transfer portal in Decmeber 2020, and just days later Dixon committed to Penn State

Career Stats

Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Games

Tackles

Sacks

FF

PD

INT

2021

12

11

0

0

2

0

2022

13

23

3

1

12

2

Dixon emerged as a rising contributor to the Penn State defense last season. He started in six games and appeared in all 13 games played by the Nittany Lions in 2022. At the end of the season, Dixon earned honorable mention All-Big Ten from the Big Ten media and he finished the 2022 season tied for sixth in the Big Ten in pass breakups (with 10). He also made some plays behind the line of scrimmage with a Big Ten-leading three sacks by a  cornerback.

Depth Chart Overview

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

With the departure of Joey Porter Jr. to the NFL, Penn State needed a new starting cornerback to line up on the field against Big Ten receivers opposite of Kalen King, a returning starter and a real star on the rise. Penn State addressed the position with the transfer portal addition of Storm Duck from North Carolina prior to spring football practices, but Duck flew his way back to the ACC with a transfer to Louisville following Penn State’s spring practices.

That is all good news for Johnny Dixon, the presumptive leader in the clubhouse for the vacant starting job at cornerback for Penn State this season. Dixon’s top competition may come from redshirt senior Daequan Hardy or sophomore Cam Miller, but Dixon appears to be sitting in a good spot for a leading role this fall.

Story originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire