Martial arts skills give OL Dickerson an edge

TALLAHASSEE Around the age of 5, Florida State offensive lineman Landon Dickerson discovered an affinity for two distinctly different sports that are more similar than one would imagine.

Dickerson, described as an active kid by his father, Jim, committed to playing football and learning martial arts, setting the athletic foundation for his future.

While Landon Dickerson was playing at nearly every position in youth football, he was learning discipline from his martial arts studies. By the time he was 11, he had earned a black belt, making him the youngest black belt his dojo.

Dickerson made the choice to halt his martial arts training when he entered high school to begin focusing on football, but he still volunteered as an instructor at his former dojo in his free time.

“I think his martial arts are where his work ethic came from,” Jim Dickerson said of his son. “His instructors were really disciplined and I saw right away how that affected everything he did from that point forward.”

Being a black belt and a starting offensive lineman is a unique distinction for any college football player.

At Florida State, the preseason favorite to win the in the history of Atlantic Coast Conference and contender for a College Football Playoff semifinal bid, Landon Dickerson will enter his second season with the team expected to make major contributions after a standout freshman campaign.

As a true freshman in 2016, Dickerson became the first FSU offensive lineman to start a home opener since Jamie Dukes in 1982. He then started each of FSU’s next six games on the offensive front.

Dickerson’s season, however, came to an abrupt end in November when he tore the ACL in his right knee in practice, causing him to miss the final five games of the season.

The lengthy recovery time kept Dickerson out of action through FSU’s spring practices, but he remained encouraged he would fully recover.

“I wasn’t worried about it. … I know my body well and I knew that I would heal up,” Dickerson said. “I knew in my mind that I was going to come back and be even better and stronger than I was.”

Dickerson may not turn 19 until Sept. 30, nearly a month into his sophomore season, but his seven starts are the third most among FSU’s offensive linemen behind only Alec Eberle and Brock Ruble.

“You have no choice but to grow up quick. We’ve got to be leaders of this unit,” Eberle told Dickerson in the Jim Dickerson, on his son Landon Dickerson, an FSU offensive lineman

offseason. “He’s matured lot. You can tell.”

Added defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, who goes head to head with Dickerson in practice: “He’s a very special kid. I feel like he has a bright future here as long as he stays on command of what [offensive line] coach [Rick] Trickett wants.”

One asset Dickerson can rely on is his martial arts skills.

FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said martial arts and football are more similar than they are different because of the battle to overcome an opponent comes from ideal hand placement and balance.

Linemen on both sides of the football, as well as receivers and defensive backs, are always jockeying for position with their hands and body to either avoid or create separation, depending on the position.

Fisher laughed when asked if it is an asset for his team to have a black belt on its starting offensive line.

“We got to make sure he can teach it,” Fisher said of Dickerson. “But it does matter.”