Riley Dixon tries to block it all out.

Students recognizing him on campus despite his position. The #DixonForHeisman Twitter campaign that comes after every one of his lengthy, well-placed punts. The jokes and jabs his teammates give him in the locker room.

He’s dealt with it all this season, but doesn’t think too much about it.

“I definitely appreciate the support from anybody who supports me,” Dixon said. “Do I pay attention to it? Not necessarily. My job is to punt the football.”

Dixon has done his job well. The senior’s 43.5 yards per punt rank him just 0.9 yards off the Atlantic Coast Conference lead. His 1,869 punting yards are fourth in the conference. More than one-third of his punts have pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line.

And while his season’s been defined by his punting, it’s been highlighted by his offensive capabilities. When Syracuse faced Villanova on Aug. 29, Dixon threw a game-winning touchdown on a fake field goal in double overtime to help SU capture a 27-26 win. Against Notre Dame on Sept. 27, he faked a punt and ran 42 yards, becoming SU’s leading rusher for the game in the process.

Whether he’s contributing on trick plays or punting the football, he’ll continue to be a key for the Orange (3-5, 1-3 ACC) against North Carolina State (4-4, 0-4) at 3 p.m. in the Carrier Dome on Saturday.

“For a specialist to be making plays, that’s awesome,” SU senior long snapper Sam Rodgers said. “To see him excelling so much this year, it’s really cool.”

Dixon was a quarterback in his first two years on the Christian Brothers (Syracuse) Academy football team. But once his junior season came along, Tyler Hamblin, a current Harvard tight end, took over the role and Dixon picked up punting “out of nowhere.”

He said it was a passion of his when he was younger; he would go out into the street and punt footballs to his father, Tom Dixon.

And once he picked it up again he didn’t stop.

“It’s definitely a craft that I don’t ever think can be perfected,” Dixon said. “I think there are guys that are very good at it, but I think it’s impossible to hit your ‘A’ ball every single time. It’s the constant drive to be perfect, even though it may not be possible.”

Dixon emerged to take over the primary punting duties from Jonathan Fisher in the second game of last season and has held the job since. In December, the walk-on was rewarded with a scholarship.

Rodgers says that as a specialist, much of the job is repetition. It’s about developing a craft, a niche, and getting better and better at it.

And Dixon, Rodgers said, takes it to another level. He’s his own coach and if he’s not feeling it, he’ll just keep punting until he does.

“One thing that’s really cool about Riley is that he just really loves to punt footballs. It’s not something that people really like to do,” Rodgers said. “… He’ll just punt footballs until you make him stop.”

Even though Dixon’s celebrity has cooled off as his 42-yard run goes deeper into the depths of an up-and-down season for Syracuse, he’s been a beacon of consistency.

SU head coach Scott Shafer said Dixon has a great ability to get the ball high in the air. When his punts remain in the air upward of five seconds, it allows the coverage unit to get down the field and force fair catches or no yardage gains, Shafer said. 

Dixon’s notoriety may be partially due to his trick play success, but his punting’s been a constant all season.

“It’s great to have a great punter,” Shafer said. “He’s done a very good job. I’m very proud of the way he’s worked at it, and I’m happy for him. He’s having a great season.” 

Published on October 30, 2014 at 11:49 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3