2008 NFL Draft prospect Dennis Dixon has taken a unique way of showing evaluators that he is ready for the draft by creating his own website (dennisdixon10.com)
April 16, 2008
(Philadelphia, Pa) — As a regular attendee of the Heisman Trophy presentation in
New York City every year, I must admit that I was a little disappointed at this
year’s ceremony when spectacular Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon wasn’t there
after suffering a late season knee injury (Left Knee torn ACL). The knee injury
ended his candidacy, proving to be a tough ending for a player who seemed
destined to go from an undrafted free agent type player to a high draft
selection. When I saw Dixon it was apparent to me he had a lot of the
intangibles that current Philadelphia Eagles triggerman Donovan McNabb possesses
- Mobile, Cannon Arm, Charismatic, and a Smmart Team Leader.
However Dixon’s too recent knee injury maybe a red flag for some draft
evaluators. The situation definitely reminds me of running back Michael Bush’s
dilemma going into the ‘07 draft (broken leg from senior year the was not
entirely healed causing the big back to be selected late in 7th rd by Oakland on
a flyer). Dixon is trying to avoid Bush’s fate by proving that he is worthy of a
mid-round draft selection despite being injured. Though an NFL team’s injured
reserve list maybe in his near future, the Oakland native has gone on the public
whippet appearing on various media outlets plus creating his own website (http://www.dennisdixon10.com)
to prove himself to NFL draft evaluators. As someone who has seen many
player websites, I have to admit I was thoroughly impressed by it. The
site shows his private workout, Dixon talks about his rehab, you get to see him
breakdown game video of himself, and much more.
We all know that evaluators tend to scrutinize everything on the way to Radio
City, so I like Dixon’s proactive approach. He already went to the combine just
to show the scouts that he wants to be accessible throughout draft process and
if it was up to me based on his tremendous numbers in only 10 games before
getting hurt (172-254, 2136 yards, and 20 touchdowns passing with an additional
583 yards and 9 TD’s rushing), he would at least garner a 5th Round selection.
And don’t even make me have to pull out the tape of his fantastic performance
over Michigan this past season.
By all accounts, he performed well at his April 3rd personal workout. The humble
quarterback, who definitely has his head in the right direction, said of his
workout, “I thought I threw the ball pretty well today. There were a couple
passes that I would like to have back, but I’m a perfectionist and I wanted to
complete every pass I threw. I did some agility drills to show everyone how well
I’m moving and how quickly that I am healing. The knee feels great. I didn’t
even think about it during the workout. I believe that I’ll be 100% in another
month. There’s no doubt that I’ll be ready for NFL camp in July.”
I have heard rumblings that the Steelers, who recently hosted Dixon and always
seem to have athletic quarterbacks like Kordell Stewart, Omar Jacobs, and Shane
Boyd on their roster, enjoyed the visit of the 2007 PAC 10 player of the year so
stay tuned. I know Dixon will be working hard at the palatial Oregon football
facilities with visions of being ready for training camp. Here’s hoping that he
achieves his dream of being drafted into the NFL.
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Submitted by Lloyd Vance
