Syracuse Football Recruiting: Orange Snag 2018 Running Back Akeem Dixon

Syracuse Football continues to add pieces to its upcoming recruiting classes. Inside The Loud House shares the details around the most recent commit.

Vero Beach, Florida running back Akeem Dixon has verbally committed to Syracuse for the class of 2018. Dixon announced his commitment via twitter on Wednesday:

Dixon becomes the first running back to commit to the Orange in the class of 2018 and the seventh overall commitment. The 6-foot-1 220-pound bruising running back is perfect for what Dino Babers and his offense like. We saw last season that a guy who runs hard in between the tackles is a nice change of pace in the Babers up-tempo offense.

Dixon was recruited heavily by the Orange’s Florida expert and Secondary coach, Nick Monroe. The Sunshine State native also held offers from the likes of Bowling Green, Purdue, and Louisville. Dixon has started at running back since his freshman season, against some great competition in South Florida.

Dixon is rated three stars by most recruiting services and according to 247sports.com Dixon is the 87th best running back in the class of 2018. Lets take a look at his highlights:

A Look at the Tape:

The first play I want to look at occurs at the :29 second mark. Dixon takes a run play up the gut for a nice gain, and then he is met by two safeties. He lowers his shoulder and appears to be tackled, but suddenly he realizes his knee never his the ground and he gets up and finishes off the run for a touchdown.

This play displays his aggression and the heady, smart player that he is. He does not posses blazing speed, but if he gets the ball in the open field he is tough to catch from behind.

Perhaps his most impressive run occurs at the 1:20 mark of the highlight tape. The running back takes the hand-off on what is supposed to be an inside run, but his patience and vision allow him to see a larger hole in between the left guard and tackle. He cuts back and aggressively hits that hole, he uses his speed to get to the outside where he is met by a defensive back.

Unfortunately for the defensive back, Dixon was not to be denied. He lowers his shoulder, running over the DB and tip toeing the sideline for an impressive touchdown run.

At the 1:47 mark, we can see Dixon’s speed on display. He takes the hand-off again in between the tackles. A nice block from his pulling guard seals the edge, and then there is open-field for Dixon. He explodes up the gut, out running linebackers and defensive backs for the long touchdown. While he does not have extreme speed, he is certainly quick enough in the open field.

At the 2:53 mark, he shows off that hard down-hill running style he possess. He gets a carry up the middle and starts to cut it outside, a little bit when he is met by the first tackler. He drags him and then is met once again by two more tacklers. These tacklers attempt to get Dixon on the ground with arm tackles. However that doesn’t work and he simply runs straight though them for a touchdown.

Dixon’s hard down-hill running style reminds me of former Syracuse running backs Jerome Smith and Delone Carter.

Welcome to Syracuse Akeem!