Breon Dixon says he was ‘misled’ in his recruitment and wants to transfer

Breon Dixon finished his true freshman season in Oxford playing in just six games and making five tackles. Dixon came to Oxford as a 4-star outside linebacker out of Grayson High School (which has been both good and bad for Ole Miss, you may remember), but he didn’t exactly inspire confidence on what was already a bad Rebel defense.

Now, before building on some early playing time as a freshman and taking advantage of the aforementioned bad Rebel defense and trying to earn a starting spot, the Loganville, Ga. native is looking for a way out.

We cannot be certain what tough times Breon is referring to, as he is requesting a transfer just 11 months after committing to defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff and Ole Miss, but it seems like the tough times just began and here is a player claiming he was misled by the administration, program, and staff.

I side with the player on most matters, especially in the context of the NCAA’s indefensible labor model. There is no reasonable excuse for Jimbo Fisher making $75 million to coach 85 players that work and risk their health merely for an education and three square meals. Players should be able to transfer without sitting a year when their coach bolts on them, which is fine and all good.

The administration at Ole Miss has said they would release any players that wish to transfer. Some have come out saying they were misled, and that Hugh Freeze told them on a recruiting visit in early 2016 that things were fine in Oxford, and no more than a “couple of scholarships” were expected to be lost. If a player wants to transfer because he felt lied to, more power to them. The bench sits just as nicely in Ann Arbor, Deontay.

What Ole Miss, the SEC, and the NCAA cannot allow is someone like Breon Dixon to transfer. Dixon was not in the 2016 class. He was not at the recruiting visit where Freeze misled players, however unintentionally, into believing the NCAA investigation was essentially over. Dixon knew the investigation was ongoing and that Ole Miss would take a larger hit than a “couple of scholarships.”

Of course, you don’t want a discontent player on your team and in your locker room. Let him walk, but make sure he sits a year and pays his due, just like anyone else transferring across the country.

Breon hates being misled or lied to. Problem is, by implying that he was somehow intentionally misled — he wasn’t intentionally misled, there’s no way Hugh Freeze or anyone connected to Rebel football could know the severity of the NCAA’s sanctions — now he is the one doing the misleading. We should thank him for being a Rebel through the tough times, and wish him the best.