Transfer running back Lyn-J Dixon commits to Tennessee

The Tennessee Volunteers worked quickly to patch up a roster hole that popped up thanks to injury. On Wednesday, West Virginia running back Lyn-J Dixon announced he would be transferring to Tennessee for his final year of college eligibility.

Life has a funny way of coming full circle. Years ago (2017 to be exact) Lyn-J Dixon was a blue chip running back committed to Tennessee. The season’s collapse under Butch Jones caused Dixon to decommit and start looking elsewhere for his college career. Eventually, he chose Clemson.

Dixon did fairly well at Clemson, totaling over 1,600 combined yards and 14 touchdowns in four seasons with the Tigers. The high water mark was 2019, when Dixon ran for 635 yards and six touchdowns on the way to a runner-up result in the national championship. The next season, Dixon saw his usage greatly reduced—just 190 yards on 42 carries—and by 2021, Dixon transferred out from Clemson after the first three games saw him with just 10 total carries.

Dixon transferred to West Virginia, who hadn’t recruited him out of high school. But he never played a down for the Mountaineers, and announced he was transferring again before fall camp got underway.

Now, Dixon comes right back to the first school he committed to. This entire recruitment was necessitated by an injury to running back Len’Neth Whitehead, who will miss the entire 2022 season. Tennessee’s running back room skews young, so the Volunteers went ahead and grabbed the veteran Dixon to help fill the missing piece.

On one hand, Dixon did show he has talent while playing at Clemson. He’s got a very nice burst and dual threat ability as a receiver. Dixon left Clemson with an impressive 6.1 yards per carry average, and he wouldn’t have played much at Clemson if he didn’t have the talent.

On the other hand, rumors swirled around Dixon’s work ethic while he was at Clemson, and what ultimately caused him to transfer. The quick transfer from West Virginia brings up those same questions. This is seemingly Dixon’s last chance to show if he has the talent and mindset to make it to the NFL. If Dixon isn’t getting a solid amount of carries a few games in, will history repeat itself? Or will he stick with the Volunteers and prove to be a key transfer piece? We’ll find out soon enough.