Tag: Cristian Dixon

2023 Season Countdown: #92 Cristian Dixon

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Name: Cristian Dixon
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #85
Last year: I ranked Dixon #68 and said he would be a backup wide receiver (LINK). He played in one game.
TTB Rating: 75

Dixon has been ranked in the sixties for the past couple years, and he has turned his opportunities into three games played and 1 catch for 7 yards. Despite opportunities opening up for wide receivers with an injury to Ronnie Bell in 2021 and Mike Sainristil moving to defense in 2022, Dixon has been biding his time on the bench. Last season he only played against Colorado State. There are plenty of walk-ons who got more playing time.

So now I’m dropping Dixon to #92. Every time a younger receivers hits campus, it seems like they earn more hype than Dixon: Darrius Clemons, Tyler Morris, Fredrick Moore, Semaj Morgan, etc. Walk-ons Peyton O’Leary and Jake Thaw have shown more than Dixon. This season there will be some snaps open where Ronnie Bell used to play, but I don’t think Dixon will benefit much.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver

Potential Departure Candidates: Offense

With the onslaught of transfer portal entries in college football, it’s inevitable that Michigan will face some more departures this off-season. Three players have already announced their intentions to transfer, and one (Cade McNamara to Iowa) has already found a landing spot. Tight ends Erick All and Louis Hansen are both headed for, ahem, greener pastures.

McNamara and All are both somewhat unique cases of players who played a lot but felt slighted in some way, but Hansen is a more typical case of a player buried on the depth chart who wants to see some light at the end of the tunnel. This post explores several players in similar situations who may find greener pastures elsewhere:

DISCLAIMER: This post is speculative in nature and not intended to encourage/discourage any player from leaving Michigan’s program. The reality is that college football is now a lot like unrestricted free agency from year to year.

RB TAVIERRE DUNLAP
Why he should stay: Every Michigan starting running back during his tenure has turned in a 1,000+ yard season, but they had to wait three or more years to do it. Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum have both turned in star performances after waiting their turn. Dunlap has done well when given a chance, averaging 6.1 yards per carry.
Why he might leave: Opportunities are limited when you’re the third string back or lower, and there’s no reason to expect much of a change in scenery for 2023. While Corum is likely headed to the NFL, Donovan Edwards is a bona fide star in the making and freshman C.J. Stokes already has many more carries (55) in one season than Dunlap has in two (16), and walk-on Isaiah Gash (19 carries, 101 yards, 2 touchdowns) even topped Dunlap in touches. When it came to the Big Ten championship game and Ohio State, Michigan decided to use a big back at times . . . but that back was the 6’2″, 232 lb. backup linebacker Kalel Mullings instead of Dunlap (6’0″, 217).

Hit the jump for more.

2022 Season Countdown: #68 Cristian Dixon

Name: Cristian Dixon
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 197 lbs.
High school: Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #10
Last year: I ranked Dixon #66 and said he would be a backup wide receiver (LINK). He played in one game and caught 1 pass for 7 yards.
TTB Rating: 75

Dixon did not make much of an impact in 2021, playing in one game against Northern Illinois and notching just 1 catch for 7 yards; technically, that preserves his redshirt and could extend his career at Michigan through 2025. Michigan turned out to have very good depth and talent at receiver, and Dixon’s services were just not needed much, even with the early injury to Ronnie Bell. As a bigger, possession-type receiver, Dixon does not have the big play speed that might make him a huge difference maker.

Dixon does have decent size and good playing strength, so he may develop into a useful player. But the only player Michigan lost from 2021 was backup Daylen Baldwin. With Bell now back from injury and an incoming freak athlete in Darrius Clemons, I don’t see a clear path for Dixon to work his way onto the field. He may have to bide his time and hope for an increased role in 2023 when Ronnie Bell and perhaps Cornelius Johnson and Mike Sainristil move on.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver

2021 Season Countdown: #66 Cristian Dixon

Name: Cristian Dixon
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 187 lbs.
High school: Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Dixon was a senior in high school (LINK).
TTB Rating: 75

Dixon had a nice list of offers coming out of high school, picking Michigan over the likes of LSU, Notre Dame, and Oregon. He had been a teammate of now sophomore cornerback Darion Green-Warren, and like all Californians, his season was postponed to the spring. So instead of playing a senior year, he enrolled early at Michigan and went through spring ball.

Buzz about him coming out of practice was pretty much non-existent. And that’s not too surprising, considering that instead of playing a season and going through spring ball to develop even further, his playing experience over the past year was halved. If you then add in that Michigan landed transfer receiver Daylen Baldwin, I think Dixon’s chances of making an impact in 2021 are pretty slim. I expect him to play some, because Michigan should see some departures going into 2022 that might open some doors for playing time, but Dixon will probably not be used much.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver

Class of 2021: Historical Recruiting Comparisons

In case you’re not aware, I have a list of every Michigan recruit going back 20+ years and their rankings (LINK).

Below you will find each 2021 recruit and his closest ranked comparison by position in Michigan history. This might help boost – or temper – some expectations for what we will see from the class.

Hit the jump for the comparisons.