Nixon talks about Temple

James Nixon watched last Saturday's Temple-Connecticut game with keen interest for several reasons.

For starters, Nixon wanted to see his friend, Temple wide receiver Dy'Onne Crudup. The two were high school teammates at Hyde Leadership Academy in Hamden, Conn., and won a pair of state championships together. They have actually known each other since preschool.

And for the record, Nixon thinks his buddy should have been credited with a touchdown pass at the end of the game that would have given the Owls the lead – and most likely a win – over the Huskies, but Temple fans know by now how that turned out.

But there's more.

In UConn, Nixon was watching the team he originally thought he'd be playing for. He committed to the Huskies back in January of 2006, but enrolled at Bridgton Academy in Maine after he failed to meet the NCAA's freshman eligibility standards out of high school. He signed again with the Huskies last February but fell short of qualifying once more.

After that happened, Nixon said he and UConn mutually decided to go their separate ways this summer.

And so it was in watching Temple Saturday that Nixon was getting a closer look at the program he hopes to call home in a matter of months.

Nixon, a 6-foot-1, 177-pound speedster from New Haven, Conn., gave the Owls a verbal commitment last week, just two days before Temple traveled to East Hartford to face UConn. He became the 12th player from the class of 2008 to commit to Temple.

Nixon rushed for 1,532 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior at Hyde Leadership Academy. While he was averaging 9.6 yards per carry, Crudup was playing quarterback.

Nixon told OwlScoop.com that he graduated from Bridgton Academy and has been back home in New Haven. He said he needs just one more point on his ACT to qualify for freshman eligibility and hopes to enroll at Temple in January.

"Temple has always been a great academic school," Nixon said in a phone interview with OwlScoop.com. "Now people can see that they have a football program that's getting better, too. My father always told me that people will always think that they owe you an opinion. So when I chose Temple, some people said 'Why there?' And then they saw the game Saturday, and they saw why. They were saying stuff like, 'Hey, they're not that bad,' and I've always thought they were a good young program based on what I followed and what Dy'Onne has told me. And I told those people, 'Give them two years, and they'll really be good.'"

Nixon said he likes playing offense. Temple's coaches, he said, asked him where he would want to play in college, but he knows he could end up at running back, wide receiver or defensive back. He's been clocked at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash and won state championships in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, so he'll bring speed to the field regardless of where he suits up.

Nixon said he'll want to play anywhere for Temple's coaches, and a lot of the credit for cultivating that attitude goes to Owls defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio, who recruited Nixon when he was an assistant at Virginia.

"I was probably leaning toward Virginia, and then [D'Onofrio] left to join (Temple) Coach (Al) Golden's staff at Temple," Nixon said. "I committed to UConn, but I always remembered how great Coach D'Onofrio was to me as my lead recruiter when I was talking to Virginia."

So much so that when things didn't work out with UConn the second time around, Nixon got in touch with D'Onofrio.

"I called him up," Nixon said, "and said, 'Guess what happened?'"

Their recruiting relationship picked up where it left off.

"I think it's his whole personality," Nixon said when asked what appealed to him about D'Onofrio's recruiting style. "He connects well with people. He can figure out your personality and know what you're like. You have no choice but to like him. And eventually, you want to commit to wherever he's at."

Nixon is very much looking forward to playing again with Crudup. He wasn't the least bit surprised when his longtime friend moved his way up the depth chart to eventually start at wide receiver for the Owls.

"Knowing him personally, I know how he acts, and I know how he prepares," Nixon said. "To him, you could be (Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl receiver) Steve Smith, and he will work his butt off until he outshines you. He's a competitor. When I went to high school, we used to battle. I know how his whole work ethic is, and I'm glad it's paying off for him."

Although he isn't playing football this fall, Nixon will come to North Broad Street as a highly-touted recruit. Virginia, Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina and of course Connecticut were among the programs that offered Nixon a scholarship when he was in high school, and Rivals.com listed Nixon as a 3-star recruit. They also ranked him 18th in the Rivals.com 2007 Prep School Top 50 list during his time at Bridgton Academy.

"I wasn't really aware of that ranking until a friend of mine told me about it," Nixon said. "I was flattered, but I didn't put too much into the rankings, because sometimes they can be overrated because people can send in millions of tapes to get noticed. I'd rather just get out there on the field, work hard and show you what I can do in person."

OwlScoop.com editor John Di Carlo can be reached at jgdicarlo@gmail.com.