Illinois has thrown eight touchdown passes this season. Collin Dixon has caught seven of them. Three years ago he did not play a single snap. Dixon grew up in Tallmadge, Ohio, about two hours north of Columbus. He was not a kid anybody had heard of. 83% of his high school receiving yards came in his last two seasons, because before that he was not the guy. His first scholarship offer came in September of his junior year. Central Michigan. Ohio State never offered at all. He got to 201 catches, 3,561 yards and 43 touchdowns by the end of high school, committed to Wisconsin, then flipped to Illinois in December of his senior year. Then he showed up in Champaign and did not play. Not one snap in 2023. No catches. Redshirt. Ask him about that year and he does not call it wasted. "I wasn't playing on Saturdays, but my game days were Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Trying to just go out there and make plays against the defense." That was the whole season. Practice was his season. He watched the older receivers, Casey Washington and Isaiah Williams, and took notes on how they carried themselves. "The biggest thing was attention to detail and the work ethic they had." Then he started doing it himself. His position coach, Justin Stepp, tells this one. "We had a 6 a.m. staff meeting, and I'm walking down the hallway at 5:45, and he's in the position room drawing up a play." In 2024 he finally played. 18 catches, 264 yards, zero touchdowns. Illinois had Pat Bryant then. Bryant caught 10 touchdowns that year, which tied the Illinois single season record, and left for the NFL. When Bryant left, somebody asked Dixon who was going to replace him. "Somebody's got to step up. Somebody's got to be the guy." Last year he caught 35 for 548 yards and five scores. Solid. Not a star. Then this offseason other schools came at him with real money. Bret Bielema talked about it this month. "We have a wide receiver that is playing at a level that's unprecedented. I promise you he had other opportunities beyond what's here for a lot more money, but he knew what we're building in this building." He stayed. Three games in: 25 catches, 367 yards, seven touchdowns. More touchdowns in three games than he had in his entire career before this season. The Illinois record for touchdown catches in a season is 10. David Williams in 1985. Brandon Lloyd in 2002. Pat Bryant in 2024. Dixon has seven. There are nine games left. Saturday he plays at Ohio State. Two hours from the town he grew up in, in the stadium of the school that never offered him. The game is September 26. Five years to the day since Central Michigan called. The kid whose game days were Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday gets one on Saturday.

BREAKING: Class of 2028 QB Owen Herrick has Committed to Illinois, he tells me for @Rivals The 6’2 190 QB chose the Fighting Illini over Nebraska, Ole Miss, and Syracuse “I’m home!! Illini family let’s do this!” on3.com/rivals/owen-herrick-…