Dixon OK with canceled UConn season
Wekiva grad says players felt it was the right move
Former Wekiva High standout Malik Dixon and the rest of his UConn teammates found out Wednesday that the Huskies will not play football in 2020.
But the team, Dixon said, was not surprised by the decision. He said the squad already had agreed it was the best thing to do due to ongoing coronavirus concerns.
“It wasn’t a surprise,” Dixon said. “Everybody kind of already expected it for about a week or so.
“Sure, we’re disappointed we can’t have a season, but it’s for the better. Health is more important than playing a game, and we thought it was just for the better. … I took it well.”
After redshirting last year as a freshman, Dixon was expecting to play a big role in his first season on the field as a Husky. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound strong safety said he was penciled in as a likely starter.
He said team leaders were able to meet with head coach Randy Edsall and other team officials to share how they felt about trying to play during the pandemic.
“Coach wanted us to give an opinion, and our team leaders were our voice,” Dixon said. “We thought it would be best if we just cancel the season and be healthy and get stronger for next year.
“We’re still practicing every day, so it’s not like we’re falling behind. I do think we made the right decision. Health is more important than football and I think we did the right thing.”
This was to be UConn’s first season as an independent program after its other sports left the American Athletic Conference to join the Big East.
With many Football Bowl Subdivision conferences opting to play a conference-only or truncated version of its nonconference schedule, it left UConn with a scheduling nightmare and few options moving forward.
UConn went 2-10 overall and 0-8 in AAC games last season. So far, the Huskies are the only Football Bowl Subdivision program to cancel the 2020 football season.