It took a while longer than most expected, but the Texas Longhorns have added another piece to their 2020 recruiting class with a commitment from Kelvontay Dixon. A wide receiver prospect out of Carthage, Dixon becomes the Longhorns’ 18th commitment in the 2020 class.
Dixon’s recruitment has been interesting for Texas fans to follow for several reasons. He was on UT’s radar very early on but wound up committing to Arkansas in July of 2019. The 6-0, 175-pounder stayed in contact with Texas and began to waiver on that Arkansas pledge in the fall, only to officially decommit from the Razorbacks in November.
From there, it looked like it was only a matter of time before Dixon would be switching his pledge to the Longhorns, and many thought it would happen sooner rather than later. It turns out, everyone had to wait until the very end of the recruiting cycle for Dixon to make things official.
Dixon openly named Texas his leader after decommitting from Arkansas and nearly took a UT official visit in December. That trip would get pushed back to late January, and Dixon would wind up taking a second official visit to Arkansas after the Razorbacks hired Sam Pittman to lead the program. Eventually, Dixon would take his Texas official visit the weekend of January 24. There was some thought Dixon might go public with a commit on that visit, but he held off. A few hours after returning home to Carthage following his Texas official visit, Dixon informed Orangebloods.com he was strongly considering making a public commitment in the next 48 hours. The week wore on with no decision, and Dixon would then take an official visit to Houston last weekend, creating more confusion before giving everyone his final answer moments ago.
Now that his decision is out in the open, Dixon says it feels good to be able to turn the page.
“Really it’s a big relief,” he said. “It was something I wanted to get off my shoulders and I’m glad to have it done.”
Dixon said it was “pretty hard” coming to a final decision and notifying everyone of his choice. While his public announcement of his commitment happened today, he said he pretty much knew before he ever took his Texas official visit a couple weekends ago.
“It was kind of (that) weekend (that solidified things), but I kind knew beforehand,” Dixon said.
A dynamic athlete who can do a lot of things on the field, Dixon helped Carthage win a state title in 2019, earning MVP honors of the championship game after scoring three touchdowns. The younger brother of Texas running back Keaontay Ingram, Dixon’s a versatile offensive weapon that will add big-play ability to the Texas offense.
“Kelvontay Dixon is one of the premier athletes in the state and unquestionably one of the biggest home-run threats,” said Rivals.com recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman. “Dixon is capable of taking snaps at a multitude of positions from receiver, in the slot or out of the backfield and can turn a short gain into a touchdown. Dixon has great acceleration, quickness and consistently separates downfield. He’s a dangerous threat in space and consistently keeps defenders off-balanced.”
Dixon is ranked as a three-star prospect and is the No. 47-ranked player in the state by Rivals.com.