Colorado linebacker shows his toughness
Colorado linebackers coach Brian Cabral knew there’d be an argument, so he didn’t bother with words.
Jordan Dizon, dinged pretty good on a play against Missouri, was going to have to miss some action to gather himself.
“I just knew that he wasn’t going to sit on the bench, so I had the trainers take his helmet away,” Cabral said of his star linebacker, “and when he realized he didn’t have his helmet he was like a caged lion on that sideline. He was so mad.”
Dizon even grabbed a teammate’s headgear and raced back onto the field.
Alas, the Buffaloes called timeout and he had to sit a few plays — a rarity for someone who as a true freshman forced his coaches to put him in the starting lineup.
Dizon — now one of three finalists for the Butkus Award that goes to the nation’s top linebacker, and one of eight semifinalists for the Lott Trophy given to the defensive impact player of the year — came to CU from Kauai, Hawaii, as an “athlete” penciled at no specific position.
“We didn’t know what he was going to be, and when he showed up we didn’t know what he was going to be, so we said, ‘Hey, let’s just stick him at safety, because there’s a short line at safety,” said Cabral, who’s in his 18th season coaching CU’s linebackers. “And two days later the secondary coach said we need to move this guy closer to the ball, and he has been starting ever since.”
Cabral, a nine-year NFL veteran, calls the 6-foot, 225-pound Dizon the toughest player he’s ever coached. High praise considering he’s tutored the likes of former Butkus winner Matt Russell, Butkus finalist Ted Johnson and NFL vets Greg Biekert and Chad Brown.
This season, Dizon leads Colorado with 144 tackles, 11 of which have been for losses. He has 18 stops that forced a punt, eight hurries, two breakups and two interceptions (one of which he returned 42 yards for a touchdown in CU’s 31-26 win at Texas Tech).
Though playing with an assortment of nicks and bruises, Dizon can’t wait for Friday’s game against Nebraska. The contest will be his last on Folsom Field and will determine which team becomes bowl eligible.
“If you were playing some small school, any time it’s your last home game as a senior it’s always going to add something special. But it’s Nebraska,” Dizon said. “This is the team’s chance to go to a bowl game, so it’s going to be a big game for this whole team, not only me.”
Dizon and some of his teammates have played in bigger contests. In 2004 and ’05, the Buffs were in the Big 12 championship.
Now 5-6, they’re acting like Friday’s contest is just as important for the program.
“This team has gone in more of the right direction than you could possibly imagine,” Dizon said. “We practiced at 6 o’clock in the morning (Saturday) and guys were ready to go at breakfast. No one was grumbling, no one said anything. People came out ready to practice.”
Dizon credits his high school coach for teaching him to play all out, and not worry about making mistakes. But he also remembers feeling like he was too slow to play safety at CU and not big enough for linebacker, either.
Maybe that doubt gave him the edge he needed to become the first player in Big 12 history to be named defensive Freshman and Newcomer of the Year in the same season?
“Coming from Hawaii, where we ran six plays total for offense and defense, and then coming here and learning 30 different defenses, it was tough,” Dizon said. “But I guess (Cabral) kind of trusted me and put me out there, for some reason.”
That one’s easy for Cabral to explain.
“He takes pride in whatever he does,” he said of Dizon. “He runs hard, he plays hard, he practices hard. He’s not the biggest guy, but he plays the game so fast.”
And, yes, even though he sometimes gets dinged, Cabral knows that won’t matter.
“Jordan,” he added, “there’s nothing that can hold him back.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
Jordan Dizon, dinged pretty good on a play against Missouri, was going to have to miss some action to gather himself.
“I just knew that he wasn’t going to sit on the bench, so I had the trainers take his helmet away,” Cabral said of his star linebacker, “and when he realized he didn’t have his helmet he was like a caged lion on that sideline. He was so mad.”
Dizon even grabbed a teammate’s headgear and raced back onto the field.
Alas, the Buffaloes called timeout and he had to sit a few plays — a rarity for someone who as a true freshman forced his coaches to put him in the starting lineup.
Dizon — now one of three finalists for the Butkus Award that goes to the nation’s top linebacker, and one of eight semifinalists for the Lott Trophy given to the defensive impact player of the year — came to CU from Kauai, Hawaii, as an “athlete” penciled at no specific position.
“We didn’t know what he was going to be, and when he showed up we didn’t know what he was going to be, so we said, ‘Hey, let’s just stick him at safety, because there’s a short line at safety,” said Cabral, who’s in his 18th season coaching CU’s linebackers. “And two days later the secondary coach said we need to move this guy closer to the ball, and he has been starting ever since.”
Cabral, a nine-year NFL veteran, calls the 6-foot, 225-pound Dizon the toughest player he’s ever coached. High praise considering he’s tutored the likes of former Butkus winner Matt Russell, Butkus finalist Ted Johnson and NFL vets Greg Biekert and Chad Brown.
This season, Dizon leads Colorado with 144 tackles, 11 of which have been for losses. He has 18 stops that forced a punt, eight hurries, two breakups and two interceptions (one of which he returned 42 yards for a touchdown in CU’s 31-26 win at Texas Tech).
Though playing with an assortment of nicks and bruises, Dizon can’t wait for Friday’s game against Nebraska. The contest will be his last on Folsom Field and will determine which team becomes bowl eligible.
“If you were playing some small school, any time it’s your last home game as a senior it’s always going to add something special. But it’s Nebraska,” Dizon said. “This is the team’s chance to go to a bowl game, so it’s going to be a big game for this whole team, not only me.”
Dizon and some of his teammates have played in bigger contests. In 2004 and ’05, the Buffs were in the Big 12 championship.
Now 5-6, they’re acting like Friday’s contest is just as important for the program.
“This team has gone in more of the right direction than you could possibly imagine,” Dizon said. “We practiced at 6 o’clock in the morning (Saturday) and guys were ready to go at breakfast. No one was grumbling, no one said anything. People came out ready to practice.”
Dizon credits his high school coach for teaching him to play all out, and not worry about making mistakes. But he also remembers feeling like he was too slow to play safety at CU and not big enough for linebacker, either.
Maybe that doubt gave him the edge he needed to become the first player in Big 12 history to be named defensive Freshman and Newcomer of the Year in the same season?
“Coming from Hawaii, where we ran six plays total for offense and defense, and then coming here and learning 30 different defenses, it was tough,” Dizon said. “But I guess (Cabral) kind of trusted me and put me out there, for some reason.”
That one’s easy for Cabral to explain.
“He takes pride in whatever he does,” he said of Dizon. “He runs hard, he plays hard, he practices hard. He’s not the biggest guy, but he plays the game so fast.”
And, yes, even though he sometimes gets dinged, Cabral knows that won’t matter.
“Jordan,” he added, “there’s nothing that can hold him back.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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