Rickey Dixon, one of the best defensive backs in University of Oklahoma history, is among the 13 players in the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame Class.
Dixon, who won the Jim Thorpe Award, was selected from the national ballot of 76 All-America players from the Football Bowl Subdivision, and 100 players from the divisional ranks.
A 1987 consensus All-American, Dixon, will be OU’s 22nd player and first full-time defensive back in the College Hall of Fame. He was All-Big Eight as a junior and senior in 1986 and ’87, and ended his career with 170 total tackles, 17 interceptions and 303 interceptions return yards. His 17 career interceptions are one shy of the OU record while his nine interceptions in 1987 are a school single-season mark.
Other members of the 1985 OU teams in the Hall of Fame are Brian Bosworth, Tony Casillas, Keith Jackson and Coach Barry Switzer.
Following his football career, Dixon became a motivational speaker for at-risk youth. He also owned a landscaping business, coached high school football and taught physical education at Red Oak High School in Texas. Dixon was diagnosed with ALS in 2013.