As he stood in the tunnel, only minutes away from the start of his college career, one thing separated Anthony Dixon from his future. The 6-foot-1-inch, 235-pound running back stood behind a thin, white generated cloud of smoke; on the other side awaited 55,000 crazed fans and the South Carolina Gamecocks.
“Running out of that tunnel, that’s when I realized I was playing in the SEC,” Dixon said. “I had never played in front of so many people; all those fans really shocked me.”
From that moment on, Dixon has been adding his name to the Mississippi State record books.
In that game alone, Dixon rushed 14 times for 64 yards, becoming the first true freshman to lead the team in rushing in his first career game.
Last season, the Bulldogs were looking for someone to replace running back Jerious Norwood, who left MSU as its leader in rushing yards, but Dixon never expected to fill the role.
“I didn’t really think about it,” he said. “All the pressure to replace Jerious was on Brandon [Thornton], but when I became the guy, I took the responsibility head on.”
Dixon made his first start against LSU in week five and says that making the transition from high school to college wasn’t easy.
“Last season I was missing assignments, fumbling the ball and running the wrong routes,” he said.
Dixon says that there wasn’t a certain game in which things began to slow down for him, but a few serious words from his coach made him improve his work ethic.
“I think it was the game before the Georgia game. Coach Croom called me out in front of the whole team and said I had some soft runs,” Dixon said. “From that moment on, I felt I had something to prove.”
Croom remembers the confrontation.
“He was acting like a freshman,” Croom said. “He didn’t know how to work and therefore wasn’t playing up to his ability. This season, however, Anthony is at another level.”
Against Georgia, if Dixon didn’t prove anything else, he proved he could find the end zone. Dixon rushed 12 times for a mere 37 yards, but scored three touchdowns.
That game set the tone for Dixon who finished the season with 668 yards on 168 carries and nine total touchdowns, all new records for a freshman.
Dixon gets his motivation to succeed from his family, especially his mother Velma.
“She’s made so many sacrifices for me and my brothers. She’s had a lot of jobs to help support us, and I just want to see her laid back in that big house and that big car. I’ve got to reward her,” Dixon said.
Translation: Dixon wants his No. 24 jersey in the NFL.
“I want to be the best,’ he said with a smile. And his coach knows he can get there.
“There’s no question Anthony can make it in the NFL,” Croom said. “I’ve coached some great backs in my time, and he’s just as good.”
While the NFL might be Dixon’s ultimate goal, his goal for this season is simple.
“I want to get to a bowl game,” he said. “I want to see our fans happy and to prove the negative people wrong. If I rush for 1,000 yards and get 20 touchdowns, I’d be happy with that. But if I only rush for 500 yards and three touchdowns, and we go to a bowl game, it wouldn’t matter.”
Dixon isn’t the only one who wants to get to a bowl this season. After three straight 3-9 seasons under Croom, this season becomes critical for a coach whose seat has gotten hotter.
“I’ve heard this might be Coach Croom’s last season, but we don’t worry about that. He’s our leader and we’re behind him 100 percent,” Dixon said.
Dixon, along with quarterback Michael Henig, are Croom’s main weapons on offense.
“Every play we run on offense will go through No. 24 (Dixon) and No. 7 (Henig),” Croom said. “That’s where it all starts on our offense.”
Thursday night, when Dixon runs through that same cloud of smoke, gone will be the shock of the crowd and the mistakes of a freshman, but one thing will remain: his urge to succeed.