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Diablo Valley Junior College offensive lineman Jason Dickson has committed to play for head coach P.J. Fleck and the Minnesota Golden Gophers while on campus for an official visit. He represents the Gophers’ third commitment of the weekend, joining fellow offensive line commits Curtis Dunlap and Daniel Faalele. And as the 26th overall commitment in this current recruiting class, Dickson could be the final addition (barring any surprises) ahead of the early signing period that begins on Wednesday, Dec. 20.
Dickson did not qualify academically coming out of high school and took two years off from school before deciding to enroll at Diablo Valley, where he has played the last two seasons. He committed to UCLA over the summer but re-opened his recruitment in October. He’ll have two years of eligibility left at Minnesota when he enrolls in the spring.
With redshirt senior-to-be Donnell Greene firmly entrenched as starting left tackle, I expect Dickson will compete for the starting spot at right tackle with redshirt sophomore-to-be Sam Schlueter, who started five games at that position this season after previous starter Nick Connelly was forced to retire from football due to concussions.
Get to know Jason Dickson
Height: 6’7’’
Weight: 309
Power 5 Scholarship Offers: Arizona State, Colorado, Iowa State, Maryland, TCU, Texas Tech, and UCLA
247 Sports Composite Rating: .8528
Scouting Report
At 6’7’’, 309 lbs., Dickson certainly looks the part, but he also has surprising athleticism for someone with his immense size. He is solid, if maybe a bit raw, in pass protection, and he has shown impressive burst reaching the second level when run blocking. He has all of the raw physical tools to succeed, and it’ll be up to Minnesota offensive line coach Ed Warinner to polish his technique. Dickson has played left tackle at the junior college level, but as I previously mentioned, I expect him to challenge for starting right tackle next season.