Former Oklahoma defensive back and College Football Hall of Famer Rickey Dixon died Saturday at age 53.
Longtime Sooners coach Barry Switzer confirmed the news on Twitter. Dixon passed away at his home near Dallas, where he had been battling ALS since 2014.
Dixon starred at Oklahoma from 1984-87 and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the No. 5 overall pick in the 1988 NFL Draft.
A consensus All-American in 1987, he became the first Oklahoma player to win the Jim Thorpe Award presented to the nation’s top defensive back. He intercepted eight passes that season and 16 in his collegiate career.
He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
Dixon played for six seasons in the NFL with the Bengals (1988-92) and the then-Los Angeles Raiders (1993), tallying six interceptions in 82 games.
