Penn State has another young defender trending in the right direction, and Daryus Dixson’s late-season surge is hard to miss.
The 6-foot, 184-pound cornerback from Mater Dei played in all 13 games as a freshman and made two starts, finishing with 24 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and six pass breakups. For a January enrollee, that’s a fast climb.
Dixson really hit his stride over Penn State’s final four games, when the Lions beat Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers and Clemson. He made his first start against Michigan State and responded with five tackles, a half tackle for loss, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery.
The next week against Nebraska, he posted a season-high eight tackles, including five solo stops. Against Rutgers on the road, he was credited with two pass breakups, and he closed the year with another strong showing in the Pinstripe Bowl win over Clemson, where he had three pass breakups at Yankee Stadium.
That kind of finish matters in a cornerback room with established voices. Zion Tracy and Audavion Collins are the veterans leading the group, and another sophomore, Jahmir Joseph, also turned in a strong performance against Clemson.
Penn State assistant Terry Smith had already seen enough last November to make his point: “(He is) part of our freshmen movement, he’s a guy that’s going to be important to our future. He continues to make big play after big play.
The moment’s not too big for him. He’s a super mature kid.”
Dixson is one of the young Penn State players to watch in August, and his 2025 finish gave the Lions plenty of reason to keep an eye on what comes next.
In Other News...
Penn States Iconic Jersey Is About To Change Forever
Penn States football uniforms are headed for a long-anticipated change, with athletic director Pat Kraft confirming the program will soon add a corporate logo patch to the jerseys. It is the latest sign that even one of college footballs most tradition-heavy brands is adjusting to the new financial realities of the sport, and Penn State is approaching the move with the same caution it has shown in other revenue pursuits.
Kraft said the department is weighing the right fit while trying to protect the look and feel of the jersey, a balancing act that has become familiar across the Big Ten as more schools embrace patch deals. Penn State has already leaned into other money-making avenues, from a cryptocurrency fan token platform to a stadium field-naming rights agreement, and the jersey patch now appears to be the next piece of that broader push, even if the final rollout is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Fans Can See This Uniform Change Coming Now
The NCAAs approval of commercial patches on college uniforms has already started to reshape the Big Ten, with Illinois, Northwestern, Michigan State and Ohio State all moving ahead with jersey sponsorships. For Penn State, the change feels less like a question of if than when, especially as schools around the league begin turning a once-taboo space on the uniform into a new revenue stream.
An official announcement has not arrived yet, but the expectation around Happy Valley is that the Nittany Lions will not sit this one out for long. Once Penn State does move, the sponsor will say plenty about how the program wants to balance tradition with the modern business of college sports, and it will be worth watching which local or national brand ends up in that spot. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Kraft Just Sent Penn State Fans A Blunt Basketball Message
Penn States mens basketball budget is getting a noticeable lift, and athletic director Pat Kraft made it clear the program is being asked to think bigger about what it takes to compete in the Big Ten. In an interview, Kraft said the Nittany Lions are still spending below the leagues top programs, even as the budget has nearly doubled for the 2026-2027 season and now sits around $8 million, with NIL and third-party support playing a growing role in how schools build rosters.
Kraft also put the focus on the people trying to make that money matter, praising Mike Rhoades and his staff for the way they have recruited and developed the roster. The message was straightforward: Penn State wants to be competitive at a high level, but getting there means more than just opening the checkbook, and the next step in that climb will depend on how the program keeps bridging the gap with the leagues biggest spenders. [Read more 🡒]