Wisconsin Football: Dixon named Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year

Wisconsin Football safety D’Cota Dixon has been an outstanding leader both on and off the field throughout his career and was recognized as such this week.

Throughout his career in Madison, D’Cota Dixon has exemplified what it means to be a Badger. On the field, he was one of Wisconsin’s toughest and most reliable players on defense, a vocal leader who his teammates rallied around, and the heart and soul of the team’s secondary. However, Dixon is so much more than just an athlete, boasting a sparkling record of campus involvement and community service in his spare time.

On Tuesday, Dixon received well-deserved recognition for his character, taking home the 2018 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award.

The award is presented each year to a Division I college football player who “has demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity, and sportsmanship on and off the field.” Each year, the Sports Information Director of every Division I program presents a nominee, with three finalists being chosen from that group by the Man of the Year’s board of directors. Lastly, members of a panel that includes former players and coaches and members of the college football media choose the winner.

Dixon was chosen over fellow finalists Derrick Brown of Alabama and Dalton Risner of Kansas State. Last year’s winner was UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin, now of the Seattle Seahawks.

On the field, Dixon was a three-year starter for the Badgers, and a good one at that. Over his career, he tallied 177 total tackles to go along with eight pass break-ups and five interceptions and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection as a junior in 2017. Expectations were high for Dixon heading into the 2018 season, as he was named to the watch lists for the Bednarik Award, Nagurski Trophy, and the Wuerffel Trophy.

While he didn’t have the type of senior season he was hoping for as a result of injuries, Wisconsin fans will still remember him as one of the program’s better safeties in recent memory, and he has a legitimate chance to be drafted in this spring’s NFL draft. He will participate in the NFL Combine later this month.

As the press release announcing his selection notes, Dixon backed up his success on the field by making plenty of noise (the good kind) off of it. He has been named Academic All-Big Ten and to the university’s Dean’s List on multiple occasions, and volunteered at over 30 events as a participant in the Badgers Give Back initiative.

In addition to earning such a special honor, Jason Witten’s SCORE Foundation will also donate $10,000 to Wisconsin’s athletic scholarship fund in Dixon’s name.