D'Cota Dixon (born November 20, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. The

Oak Hill, Florida Oak Hill is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,792 at the 2010 census. History The first inhabitants of what would become Oak Hill were the Timucuan Indians, who lived along the shore from c. 2000 BCE to 1500 ...

native played high school football at

New Smyrna Beach High School New Smyrna Beach High School (NSBHS) is a public high school located in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, United States. About The school mascot is the Barracuda, commonly referred to as the "Cuda." The high school opened in 1963 on what is now calle ...

College career

Dixon started his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons on the

Wisconsin Badgers football The Wisconsin Badgers football program represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the sport of American football. Wisconsin competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the W ...

team. Injuries hampered his senior campaign, but he was still invited to the 2019

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

Professional career

At the combine, Dixon ran a 4.81-second 40 yard dash, registered 20 reps on the 225-pound bench press, a 33.5-inch vertical jump and a 119-inch broad jump. After his senior season, Dixon was named the

Jason Witten Christopher Jason Witten (born May 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 17 seasons, primarily for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Univers ...

Collegiate Man of the Year award for exceptional character. On May 13, 2019, Dixon signed with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

as an undrafted free agent. On August 8, 2019, Dixon was placed on injured reserve. Dixon was waived by the Buccaneers during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, and was signed to the practice squad the following day. He was released on October 20.

Personal life

Growing up in a crime-ridden Miami neighborhood, Dixon was raised by a single mother who was sometimes beaten by her boyfriend. D'Cota and a brother were eventually placed into foster care after living in a house with no working refrigerator, oftentimes eating out of a styrofoam cooler. His father was a drug addict for much of Dixon's young life until he died of a heart attack when Dixon was in high school. After struggling with anger issues early in life, Dixon eventually became more mild-mannered, citing his

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

faith.

References

External links

Wisconsin Badgers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, D'Cota 1994 births Living people American football safeties Players of American football from Volusia County, Florida Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Wisconsin Badgers football players