PLYMOUTH – Antonio Dixon was a soft-spoken giant of a defensive lineman trying to make it to big-time college football when he attended Milford Academy in New Berlin.
He spent a year at Milford in 2004 before moving on to play Division One ball for the Miami Hurricanes. Dixon was quiet young man when The Evening Sun interviewed him six years ago, and he had a good reason to use as few words as possible during his interview. Dixon’s struggles have since been well documented in the Florida media. That Dixon has now ascended to play in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles makes his story one of the most inspiring triumphs among Milford Academy graduates.
Growing up in a poor family, Dixon spent time in six homeless shelters living in Miami and Atlanta. His father was in prison for drug trafficking, and his mother abused drugs for a period of two years. During his mother’s drug use, Dixon and his siblings were pulled from their mother’s home to live in foster care.
It was a rough start to the young Dixon’s life. Add to it his issues with dyslexia and a pervasive stuttering problem. He was unable to read until the sixth grade, and was expelled from school two years later for fighting and belligerent behavior.
When Dixon returned to school as a freshman in high school, he found football and his life turned for the better. As a senior, he was ranked among the best college lineman prospects in Florida, but needed to get his grades up. He spent a year at Milford Academy honing his skills as a football player and gaining the tools to become a good student.
Through hard work and perseverance, he graduated from Miami with a degree in Liberal Arts. Not only that, he was among five other students in the nation to win the Wilma Rudolph Student Athlete Acheivement Award. The award is given annually to collegiate athletes who overcome great personal adversity to achieve academic success.
“College was tough,” Dixon said, who said it was an eye-opening the first three months, especially just getting into proper football shape. “I used to go to study hall sometimes 18 hours a week. Other people were going eight or 10 hours, but they had me on this ridiculous schedule. Seniors, they don’t have to go to study hall, and I was the only senior there. It was worth it; I was proud of graduating.”
Dixon proceeded through his four years, and while he was reaching the pinnacle of his academic life, he had a subpar senior season playing for the Hurricanes. “I didn’t have a good year and they weren’t playing me much,” Dixon said.
It wasn’t a huge suprise that Dixon’s named was not called at the 2009 NFL Draft, but he did get a call from the Washington Redskins the next day, and was signed as a free agent. “I did really good at Washington, but they already had four defensive tackles,” Dixon said. “They called me and told me they wanted to sign me to their practice squad.”
Under practice squad rules, the players – while practicing with a specific team – are still considered free agents, and can be signed by any other team.
Shortly after Washington placed Dixon on the practice squad, the Philadelphia Eagles phoned Dixon. “The Eagles called me maybe five or 10 minutes later (after I was put on the practice squad), and wanted to sign me to their roster,” Dixon said. “I couldn’t even say goodbye. I had to go straight from Washington to Philly. I was new, and I didn’t know what was going on.”
Dixon played sparingly on defense making 15 tackles during the season, but was a mainstay on the special teams. Dixon made a crucial block of a field goal attempt by the Bears’ Robbie Gould to help preserve a 24-20 Eagles win. “The first (field goal attempt), I almost blocked it, and I almost had the second one, too,” Dixon recalled. “The third time, I just had a feeling I was going to block it...I busted through the line and felt something hit my hand. I didn’t know if it was a helmet or a hand. As soon as it hit me, everyone was going ‘awww.’ So I knew.”
Dixon is back with the Eagles this year with a new number – 64. He was also on hand to help promote the Milford Academy Legends Dinner and Golf Tournament, Thursday afternoon at Canasawacta Country Club. During the tournament, Dixon rode around on a golf cart with a member of the Milford Academy staff, and said he might take a few shots on the course. “I played miniature golf when I was in the 12th grade, and I played golf on the WII (gaming system),” Dixon said, who has never actually played a round of golf. “I told myself that one day I’ll try to play it seriously. It’s a good game.”
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Also making the rounds at the golf tournament with Dixon was Cincinnati Bengals rookie free agent, Roy Norell. Norell, a 2005 Milford Academy graduate, spent the last four years playing for the University of Buffalo and head coach Turner Gill. The 6-foot-6, 300-pound offensive lineman is scheduled to participate in the Bengals’ mini-camps.
Shonn Greene of the New York Jets, Terrance Knighton of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Niko Koutovides of the Tampa Buccaneers, all part of the Milford Academy alumni, were not on hand for the golf tournament, but were expected to attend the Legends Dinner, said Terry Potter of Millenia Entertainment, a co-partner in promoting the tournament.