Mackylan Dixon, an Idabel High School sophomore, was well-prepared for Friday nights last fall.

The freshman reached the end zone 12 times in 13 games. Idabel head coach Scott Pratt called Dixon “highly explosive with the ball in his hands,” as he hauled in 22 catches for over 453 yards plus 53 carries for 488 yards.

“I feel like I shined my freshman year,” Dixon said. “I have set myself a high expectation, but I will certainly have no problem meeting that expectation or even exceeding.”

The expectations existed long before he first caught a varsity touchdown. His father, Mack, played football at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. Another relative, LA’ Quan Wells, plays receiver at East Central University.

“Growing up in a football family has pushed me to be greater at the sport,” Dixon said. “My family loves the game, but no one has ever played at the D-I level, and I feel like I have the opportunity, so I want to make my family proud and do something they never got to do.”

Dixon might have put a target on his own back with his impressive rookie year.

“Now that everyone has seen how I play at the high school level, I will be getting more attention, not only positive, but negative, too,” Dixon said. “But as a key player, I have to block out the negativity and any obstacle.”

Positivity is an important piece to Dixon’s character as he has moved into a leadership role.

“It’s very important to be a positive voice in the locker room because my teammates look at me as a leader,” Dixon said. “I might be the youngest in the room, but I have proven that I can put the weight of the team on my back when I need to.”

Dixon also runs the open 200m and 400m in track and was on Idabel’s 4x400m relay team which qualified for the state tournament this year.

Dixon said Idabel football fans can expect improvements this year.

“We have to keep our mentality from last year and keep that to help us drive to an even better season this year,” Dixon said. “Big things will be coming from us.”