Kentucky commit Jakob Dixon on Vince Marrow: "He's changed my life"
Kentucky football picked up its 11th commit for the class of 2023 on Sunday — the fourth in six days. Jakob Dixon, a wide receiver out of Pleasure Ridge Park High School in Louisville, announced his decision to play for the Wildcats earlier today.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound three-sport athlete expects to slide into a hybrid tight end role once he officially arrives in Lexington. Dixon posted a 4.5-second 40-yard dash time during a June camp at UK, which later led to an offer and, roughly one month later, a commitment.
“Jakob has the elite the measurables that guys at the Power Five level are looking for,” Pleasure Ridge Park’s linebackers coach Justin Kelley told KSR. “UK’s staff saw it early on when working him out. He’s just under 6-foot-5 200-plus pounds, runs 4.5 40, 10’7 broad jump, 33.5-inch (vertical). The kid separates from DBs, has length for the jump ball, physical in the blocking game. He’s also got a 4.0 GPA. He’s extremely smart so he can be used in different spots and in motion.”
Dixon, who is about to enter his senior season at PRP, was not a recruit high on Kentucky’s radar as recently as the spring. However, two impressive June camps in front of Vince Marrow caught the associate head coach’s eyes, leading to the scholarship offer. Dixon came to those camps with just a pair of Divison I offers from Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Illinois. Following the Kentucky scholarship, he earned more from the likes of Dartmouth, Murray State, and Tennessee State.
But playing in the Southeastern Conference is no comparison when it comes to non-Power Five programs. Dixon said he loved the environment at UK during his camp visits and felt welcomed by everyone involved, especially the coaching staff. Marrow, in particular, made sure to stay close to Dixon while the latter was in Lexington.
The opportunity gifted by Marrow to play at a high level became a life-changing, well-earned one for Dixon.
“He definitely has high expectations for me,” Dixon told KSR on Sunday of Marrow. “He’s a good dude, he’s changed my life basically. I appreciate him a lot.”
The decision to commit now wasn’t a challenging one for Dixon, either. Kentucky made him feel like a priority once the offer was extended and the staff fully expects him to develop into something special down the road.
Kentucky views Dixon as a potential hybrid tight end, mirroring the role that current Wildcats TE Izayah Cummings currently fills. Dixon is already well-versed in blocking as a receiver, which he does regularly for PRP, and he doesn’t expect the transition to a similar role in college to be too difficult.
“The kid has a chance to be special,” Coach Kelley added. “With his ability to run and catch the football he’ll be a matchup nightmare in any league. If you look at NFL combine numbers for X receivers and Flex TEs and he’s right there at 17 (years old). We’ve coached multiple P5 kids at PRP and Dixon fits the mold.”
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