Kerry Dixon II is in his first season as the Rockets' running backs coach.
Dixon mentored three running backs who gained over 500 yards in 2018, helping the Rockets average 223.6 rushing yards per game, the No. 2 mark in the Mid-American Conference. Redshirt freshman Bryant Koback led the pack with 875 yards and 13 touchdowns. Junior Art Thompkins followed with 563 yards and six TDs, and sophomore Shakif Seymour added 526 yards and five scores.
Before coming to Toledo, Dixon was the wide receivers coach at Florida from 2015-17. Prior to that he coached running backs at Montana State (2010-11), FAU (2012-13) and FIU (2014).
During his time at Florida, Dixon mentored two freshmen, Antonio Calloway in 2015 and Tyrie Cleveland in 2016, who recorded 100-yard receiving games, something which had been accomplished only one other time in Gator history. Calloway caught 35 passes for 678 yards as a freshman, and became the third-fastest player in UF history to reach 1,000 receiving yards (17 games). Also, six different Gators received multiple receiving touchdowns in a game in both 2015 and 2016. In 2016, Dixon was named a Top 25 recruiter by Rivals.
Dixon began his coaching career at an assistant coach at his high school alma mater, Booker T. Washington High School in Houston, Texas, from 2005-06. He entered the college coaching ranks in 2007, coaching quarterbacks at Morgan State. He moved on to Texas Southern to coach QBs in 2008, where he guided two signal-callers who each threw for over 1,000 yards. In his one season as the offensive coordinator at Stillman College in 2009, Dixon mentored an All-America running back, Quinn Porter, who rushed for 138.6 yards per game and went on to play for the St. Louis Rams.
Dixon coached running backs for two seasons at Montana State, helping the Bobcats reach the FCS quarterfinals in both seasons. In 2010, Dixon tutored All-Big Sky second-team running back Orenzo Davis, who rushed for 1,126 yards and 10 touchdowns. In 2011, he coached a tandem, Cody Kirk and Tray Robinson, that combined for nearly 2,000 yards and scored 21 TDs. Kirk made first-team All-Big Sky. His 1,351 yards ranks fifth in MSU history. Robinson was named second-team All-Big Sky as well as Big Sky Newcomer of the Year.
Dixon spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons as the running backs coach at Florida Atlantic. In his first season with the Owls, Dixon had the task of replacing the school’s all-time leading rusher, Alfred Morris, a six-year NFL veteran with Washington and Dallas. Dixon employed a running back-by-committee approach that netted just 38 fewer rushing yards and 167 more receiving yards than the previous season. In 2013, FAU rushed for 2,215 yards and 21 touchdowns, both school records. In his one season at FIU in 2014, Dixon led a running backs group that rushed for more than 1,500 yards.
Dixon played football at Baylor from 2000-01 before transferring to Hampton in 2002. He started in two games at quarterback as a freshman at Baylor before moving to wide receiver as a sophomore. At Hampton, Dixon returned to the quarterback position and was named team captain as a senior.
Dixon, a native of Houston, received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Hampton in 2004. He and his wife Robin have three children, Charlee (8), Kerry (1) and Rylee, who was born in April of 2018.
Kerry Dixon’s Coaching Experience
2018 Toledo – Running Backs
2017 Florida – Wide Receivers
2014 FIU- Running Backs
2012-13 FAU – Running Backs
2010-11 Montana State – Running Backs
2009 Stillman College – Offensive Coordinator
2008 Texas Southern – Quarterbacks
2007 Morgan State – Quarterbacks
2005-06 Booker T. Washington High School – Assistant Coach
