Birds' Dixon making the most of what he has

Antonio Dixon played 16 snaps at defensive tackle for the Eagles the Sunday before last, in their victory over Kansas City.

Not much, but something. Something to savor. Something to build on.

“I was real happy about that,” he said of his workload Wednesday, as he sat in the locker room of the team’s practice facility.

The 6-3, 322-pound rookie, acquired Sept. 6 after he was waived by the Redskins, has grown accustomed to making the most of things, because for so long he had so little.

He didn't have a dad; he was in prison from the time Antonio was 7 until six months ago.

Nor did he have a mom; she was strung out on drugs for a year or two when Antonio was young.

And not a home, either; when he and his four siblings weren’t shuttling between the homes of relatives in Miami and Atlanta, they were staying in homeless shelters. They also spent time in foster care, when their mother’s substance abuse was at its worst.

Antonio, who once estimated that he attended 15 elementary schools, was found to have dyslexia when he was in the sixth grade. He didn’t learn to read until four years later, and along the way developed a severe stuttering problem, something he still battles. When he can’t quite produce the correct word, he slaps himself on the thigh or midsection.

But things are getting better, he said. His dad, Frazier Hawkins, was released in April from federal prison after serving 17 years on a drug-trafficking charge. He is now back in Miami, working at an LA Fitness. Antonio’s mom, Corenthia, is also in Miami, working in the kitchen of a homeless shelter.

And Antonio has been given an opportunity by the Eagles.

“I’m grateful,” he said. “I’m real happy. I’ve just got to stay focused.”

Here he slapped his thigh once, twice, a third time.

“I can’t be satisfied with where I’m at right now,” he said. “I’ve got to be real mature. I’m hungry right now. I’ve just got to get better and better every day.”

Dixon was on the field for a handful of plays in the Eagles’ first two games, against Carolina and New Orleans. But against the Chiefs he and Trevor Laws frequently rotated into the game in place of starters Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley.

Dixon has no idea if that will remain the case Sunday, when the Birds host Tampa Bay. But as always, he is grateful for the opportunity. As always he will try to make the most of what he has.

Looking back, he said, “There were a lot of low points.”

Too many to count, almost. His parents’ travails. The rootlessness. His struggles in school.

Things would slowly improve. Corenthia got herself straightened out. Antonio reestablished contact with his father when he was a teenager. And while Dixon has admitted that he lashed out when his peers made fun of his stutter, his mom has said he managed to avoid many of the other problems that ensnare so many kids.

Instead, he found football. And at that, he said, “I did my best.”

“I never quit,” he added. “There were times I wanted to quit, help out my mom and get a job. But she’s like, ‘You’re not going to quit. You’re going to stick to football and you’re going to graduate. You’re going to get your degree.’ I did that, so I’m real happy about that.”

He finally learned to read his sophomore year at Miami’s Booker T. Washington High, and on the field excelled as a two-way lineman. After a year at a prep school in New York State – to which he traveled by bus, because the family’s finances were so tight -- he landed at the University of Miami.

He started only 10 of the 40 games he played for the Hurricanes, but was dogged about the books, spending hours on end in study hall while his teammates were exploring South Beach. And in the end he not only earned his degree in liberal arts, just as Corenthia said he would, but also became one of six athletes nationwide to be presented the Wilma Rudolph Award, given to those who, according to the award’s entry form, “have overcome great personal, academic and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics.”

Dixon went undrafted in April, but was signed by the Redskins as a free agent. The preseason saw him make eight tackles in four games, which was not enough to earn a roster spot.

But now he’s here, making the most of what he has.

“It’s been rough so far,” he said of his life, “but it’s getting better.”



(examiner.com)