West Virginia Fills a Need at Linebacker with Penn State Transfer Lance Dixon

Former Penn State linebacker Lance Dixon announced this morning on Twitter that he will be transferring to West Virginia. Dixon entered the transfer portal on Jan. 28.

Got the world in my eyes . . . #takemehome pic.twitter.com/ZpRo0N08rO

— Ace ¹ᵏ (@Lance__Dixon) March 11, 2021

Dixon was a 4-star recruit from West Bloomfield, Mich., who played two seasons for Penn State. He appeared in three games in 2019 and all nine games in 2020. He had a big game against Ohio State this past season, recording five tackles (four solo) and forcing a fumble.

Just last week, WVU coach Neal Brown said the team was most likely going to wait until after Spring practices to sign any transfer, however, he was specifically looking for a linebacker with multiple years of eligibility, like Dixon.

“At linebacker, we need at least one multiple-year guy,” Brown said.

The Mountaineers graduated All-Big 12 linebacker Tony Fields following last season and fellow starter Josh Chandler-Semedo will be a senior in 2021.

West Virginia has several more open scholarships remaining. Brown said the team will evaluate their needs this Spring and then pursue any more transfers accodringly.

“We have scholarships available and that’s on purpose.,” Brown said. “We’ve got to build out corner room, we’re low in our linebacker room. Outside of that, we’re going to assess, post-Spring, how to address those remaining spots.”

NittanySportsNow Reporter Cory Giger Contributed Reporting