The state of Arizona is seeing quite possibly the best crop of in-state prospects since 2012, with many guys destined to go Power Five schools. Rich Rodriguez has put an emphasis on in-state recruiting, landing commitments from four AZ prospects, and is still in contention for quite a few more.

Among those in-state commitments is Tucson local Drew Dixon out of Sabino. He is currently ranked as a 3-star prospect, sits at 64th among all athletes in the nation, and is ranked 15th overall in the state of Arizona.

He’ll be joining Rodriguez’ offense as a wide receiver, giving the unit more size with his 6-foot-4, 210 pound frame.

Dixon was the first of the 2017 recruiting class to start their high school season, and he had himself a night against Sahuaro on Thursday.

While he had served as the quarterback throughout his varsity career, he was lined up as a running back for most of the night, where his athleticism took over. He rushed the ball 27 times for a total of 280 yards and four touchdowns. He did fumble the ball twice, one of which was lost in the red zone.

He also lined up at wide receiver, where he hauled in seven catches for 81 yards.

Dixon is the ultimate utility player, but it seems as if over usage could be a concern. This game was a shootout against a solid team, so we’ll see how his snaps are managed going forward.

Playing in Tucson does his ranking no favors, however if Dixon can continue to keep a similar pace to what he’s started, you can expect him to rise just a bit. Rodriguez has found himself a nice piece in his own backyard. There are a lot of quality prospects in this class, but Dixon has been one of my favorites and I’m excited to see how he develops this season.