Michigan Football: 4-star WR Christian Dixon makes sense as a Wolverine

Michigan football recently made the top eight for four-star wide receiver Christian Dixon and here’s where things stand and what he could bring.

It’s pretty apparent that Michigan football was looking to add some bigger wide receivers in the 2021 recruiting class and on Tuesday, the Wolverines added one in 6-foot-2 commit Markus Allen.

Allen is a three-star receiver from Ohio who ranks just inside the top 500 overall in the 2021 class according to the 247 sports composite rankings. But he’s a kid that Josh Gattis really pushed for and it worked out for Michigan football.

It seems the Wolverines are now hoping that same strategy pays off with dynamic four-star wideout Christian Dixon from high school powerhouse Mater Dei in California.

Like Allen, Dixon is a 6-foot-2 wide receiver who looks built to play on the outside. But thinking about some of the other receivers Michigan has added since Gattis came on board and it makes sense to put an emphasis on some bigger targets.

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Giles Jackson, Mike Sainristil, Eamonn Dennis and A.J. Henning are all dynamic players in their own right, but most of them are better fits in the slot, although Henning is a guy who has the ability to play more on the outside.

Roman Wilson is a deep threat and a bigger wide receiver from Hawaii. He was also part of the 2020 class along with Henning and while he’s fast and explosive, he’s not necessarily a go over the middle type.

Watching his highlights, it’s easy to see that’s exactly the kind of receiver Dixon is. He’s an incredibly smooth router runner and even though he’s isn’t a burner with 4.6 speed, he knows how to get open deep.

The other thing I really like about Dixon is that is willing and able to run the slant across the middle of the field. Outside of deep passes, the slant seems to be his best route and it’s one you see him run often. He takes some hits, but he does a great job of getting inside leverage and catching the ball in traffic.

Like Allen, Dixon knows how to use his size and speed to his advantage. Getting yards after the catch isn’t his greatest strength, but he knows how to get upfield.

In terms of his recruitment, it’s still pretty open. According to Greg Biggins of 247 sports, Michigan is among the top contenders in his final eight, however, the pursuit of Dixon by others such as USC could play a prominent role in how it plays out.

If USC wants to take Dixon, it might be hard for Michigan to beat out the Trojans. Yet, USC may not have the room to take him, so that could open the door for California, Michigan and maybe even Washington State according to Biggins:

"“Cal and Michigan are two that Dixon is both high on and are pushing hard for him. Nebraska and Washington State could be right behind and Oregon has to be mentioned among that top group as well.”"

If it comes down to USC and Michigan, who knows, but if the competition is Cal, Washington State and Nebraska, you have to feel better about the Wolverines chances, especially with how much they seem to want him. Again, here is Biggins:

"“We know he’s definitely a priority for the Wolverines. Once players can start taking official visits, our guess is Michigan will be one of the first schools Dixon sets up one with."

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Coach Gattis has proven to be very good recruiting talented wide receivers and if Dixon comes to Ann Arbor, that bodes well for the Wolverines.

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