Michigan Football: Wolverines targeting Penn State transfer Lance Dixon

There have been rumors that Penn State linebacker Lance Dixon was going to enter the transfer portal and that once he did, Michigan football would be an immediate contender.

It’s actually something that’s been talked about for months, even before Dixon’s former high school head coach, Ronald Bellamy took a job as Michigan football’s receivers coach.

But now that Dixon has finally entered the transfer portal, which became official on Thursday, the Wolverines can make their push a reality.

And according to Sam Webb of the Michigan Insider the Wolverines are the early favorite, even though he also cautions it’s not a slam dunk.

L:ooking back at Dixon’s recruiting profile, Michigan was a team in the mix as he was one of the best recruits in the state of Michigan but he chose the Nittany Lions over the Wolverines and others.

Out of West Bloomfield, Dixon was ranked as the No. 179 prospect overall in the class of 2019 according to the 247 sports composite rankings. However, 247 sports had him rated much, much higher on its own. Dixon was a five-star according to 247 and the No. 13 player overall.

Yet, Dixon saw limited action over the past two seasons with Penn State seeing action in just seven games and finishing his 2020 season with 10 tackles, including 2.5 for loss.

While Webb is cautioning Michigan football fans not to get too excited about Dixon, there’s been a lot in terms of tea leaves indicating a move to Ann Arbor could be coming.

Earlier this week, current Michigan safety Makari Paige, another West Bloomfield alum, tweeted about West Bloomfield to Ann Arbor.

This could have been interpreted to be about Bellamy, who was announced by Michigan football over the weekend after leading the Lakers to a state championship.

But Chris Balas of the Wolverines quoted the tweet and responded to “Watch the transfer portal.” Three days later, Dixon is in the portal and Michigan appears to be in pursuit.

Paige and Cornell Wheeler are already Wolverines and Donovan Edwards is another recruit coming from West Bloomfield. And it can’t hurt that Dixon’s former high school coach is on staff.

On top of all that, Michigan desperately needs playmakers at linebacker, especially guys like Dixon who have the athleticism to play well in pass coverage. He’s a true three-down kind of linebacker and you get the feeling he would play right away.