Dixon's return helps boost UW defense
MADISON, Wis. - Nothing could diminish the beaming grin on D’Cota Dixon’s face following Wisconsin’s 31-17 win over Rutgers on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
The senior strong safety, who missed three games with a right-ankle injury, had three tackles and caught a blocked field goal attempt in the first quarter against the Scarlet Knights. Dixon ran 34 yards on the return, though the Badgers failed to capitalize to score on the miscue.
“I’m just happy to get the opportunity to run around with my teammates, and, hopefully, add some spark to the team,” said Dixon, who suffered the injury on Oct. 6 against Nebraska. “It’s nice to contribute, especially when you worked all year, all off season.”
Dixon underwent shoulder surgery and missed the entire spring season. He’s highly regarded leader among his teammates, in addition to Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst.
He’s persevered through an injury-prone career, and came into the season with 42 career starts in four years. He obtained a medical hardship waiver that allowed him to play in 2018.
Dixon learned early last week that he is one of 13 finalists for the National Football Foundation’s William V. Campbell trophy, an accolade given to the nation’s top scholar-athlete.
“Kind of going along in the week, knowing that he had a chance to go – he’s one of those guys who bring a lot of energy – and I think guys, they take energy from him,” said Chryst of Dixon, who received an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship due to his finalist status with the Campbell award.
“Especially when you’re a senior, that’s a hard deal (when) you miss time. I wouldn’t necessarily want to evaluate how he played, but I’m absolutely confident in saying it was great having him out there.”
Another key play of the game was the first career blocked field goal for senior outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who took away a field goal attempt from Rutgers kicker Justin Davidovicz.
While Chryst was pleased with the defense’s performance, he still saw chances slip out of the group’s grasp.
“I thought we did some really good things, Chryst said. “I thought in the first half, we were getting to them and we were getting some hits. It’s unfortunate (because) we had some opportunities for some takeaways and didn’t really take advantage of those.”
Other veteran players continued to the Wisconsin defense as fifth-year senior inside linebackers Ryan Connelly and T.J. Edwards combined for 15 tackles in Saturday’s victory.
Connelly led the Badgers with eight tackles, and posted his third sack of the season against Rutgers.
Connelly and Edwards rank first and second, respectively, with 65 and 61 tackles a piece for Wisconsin this season.
“I think it’s that we’ve played with each other so long, and we know each other,” Connelly said. We’re always out the field talking and able to communicate. I just think when you have that as a unit, and then eventually leads to defense, that’s when you’re playing good football."
The defense also got a boost on Saturday with the return of redshirt sophomore defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk, who was sidelined for three games with a left-ankle injury.
Loudermilk, who saw action in third-down situations, said he expects to start next Saturday when Wisconsin plays at Penn State. He wouldn’t say whether his knee was completely healthy.
“It’s still day to day,” said Loudermilk about his injury on Saturday. “Today was good for me, to be able to gauge how it would feel during a game. I feel like definitely next week, I should be able to be full go. That’s definitely what I’m shooting for, is to be able to take as many reps as I can.”