Julius Dixon enters his first year as the defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach for Savannah State University. He comes to SSU from Presbyterian College where, in 2007, he was the defensive coordinator and helped coached the team to a 6-5 record in their first year of Division I competition.
Prior to that, he spent 14 years as an assistant with Furman University; first as defensive line coach for three years, and then he served as the defensive backs coach for eleven years. During his tenure at Furman, Dixon coached three All-Americans and six All-Conference players. He also helped coach the Paladins to three conference championships (1999, 01, 03), and playoff appearances in 1999, 2001, 2004, and 2005. The 2001 team finished as the NCAA I-AA national runner-up.
Dixon got his start in coaching at Camden High School (S.C.). He served as an assistant coach for four years, from 1988-92. During his first year as an assistant, Camden went 15-0 and won the South Carolina AAA State Championship.
Dixon, a native of Toccoa, Ga., earned his bachelor’s in political science in 1990 from Furman University. As a star cornerback for Furman, Dixon was one of four freshmen to letter in his first year, and was a member of the 1985 NCAA I-AA runner-up team that finished with a 12-2 record and a Southern Conference championship. As a senior, he earned first team all-conference honors, and was the captain of the 1988 NCAA I-AA national championship team. That year, the Paladins compiled a 13-2 record, a conference championship, and earned the nations top scoring defense holding opponents to 9.5 ppg. During his four-year span, the Paladins recorded a 40-10-2 record.
He is married to the former Tawanda Cooper of Kingstree, S.C. and they have two children; Jailyn (6) and Devin (1)
