Running backs coach Dixon II leaves for University of Florida

Jake Spiwak/Staff Writer

Kerry Dixon’s thoughts on FIU’s incoming class.

The new head coach at University of Florida Jim McElwain announced the addition of former FIU running backs coach Kerry Dixon II to the staff at UF Tuesday morning.

Although Dixon has been exclusively a running backs coach since 2010, he will be working as the wide receivers coach for the Gators.

Dixon has been an offensive coach for the past 10 years at both the high school and college level. Dixon’s coaching career started in the 2005 season as a coach for his alma mater, Booker T. Washington High School in Houston, Texas. He then began coaching collegiately as a quarterbacks coach at Morgan State University in 2007, and at Texas Southern University in 2008. He became offensive coordinator for Stillman College in 2009 before beginning his career as a running backs coach.

He coached running backs at Montana State University in 2010 and 2011, and took the same position with Florida Atlantic University in 2012. After spending two years coaching in Boca Raton, FIU brought Dixon on board to work with their young core of running backs.

2014 was Dixon’s lone season coaching at FIU, and the running backs really came together under his direction. True freshman Alex Gardner averaged over 4 yards per carry, and consistently gave the Panthers a reliable option out of the backfield. When he went down with a season-ending shoulder injury, true freshman Napoleon Maxwell and redshirt-junior Anthon Samuel stepped up and played very well.

Coach Dixon was also credited for playing a major role in recruiting for the Panthers this season, specifically targeting players in Miami-Dade County. 21 of FIU’s 22 new signees were from the state of Florida, and 9 were from Miami-Dade.

Dixon was visibly very excited about the new players FIU added on National Signing Day before the news that he was leaving for UF.

“I’m extremely excited about the guys that we have,” Dixon said after FIU’s Signing Day event. “A lot of them have great upside…and I think we have a lot of guys in this class that will be able to impact us immediately.”

It is currently unknown who will take over Dixon’s position as running backs coach at FIU.