Rickey Dixon

Rickey Dixon was born in Dallas and played at Wilmer-Hutchins High School. He arrived at Oklahoma in 1984, played in four Orange Bowls, and helped beat Penn State for the 1985 national title. In 1987 he was a consensus All-American and became the first Sooner to win the Jim Thorpe Award, which he shared with Miami's Bennie Blades. His two interceptions of Steve Taylor sealed OU's win at Nebraska that year in "Game of the Century II." Cincinnati drafted him fifth overall in 1988. He played five seasons for the Bengals and one for the Los Angeles Raiders, finishing with six interceptions. He is on the Big Eight's All-Time Team. He died on August 1, 2020. Note: public sources on him are thin, so this bio is short. Pro Football Reference has a player page for him (linked below), but its stats weren't pulled for this bio. The Oklahoman wrote on November 25, 1987: "Oklahoma safety Rickey Dixon, projected by many NFL scouts as the first Big Eight player to be drafted next spring, heads the defensive secondary."