‘Culture shock’ ahead: Keisean Nixon ready for big trip to join Gamecocks

Keisean Nixon is taking a leap by joining the South Carolina football team.

There’s a reason some teams have geographic advantages. There’s a reason Will Muschamp’s staff recruits mostly within five hours of campus. Young people generally don’t want to be too far from family and those they grew up with.

Nixon had plenty of chances to indulge that particular instinct. The junior college defensive back had offers from UCLA in his hometown, from Pac-12 teams such as Oregon, Cal and the Arizona schools. But he brushed that aside and signed to cross the country.

He admits he didn’t even keep the current build of USC’s secondary in mind, but something else pulled him along.

“It’s just my comfort level with coach Muschamp and Travaris Robinson,” Nixon said. “That’s about it. So I was comfortable there. I wasn’t just going to leave home, the West Coast, go all the way to the other side of the (country), just to not be comfortable.”

He’s got enough West Coast in him that he plans to get Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles before he leaves. A few weeks back he had a chat with Pop Warner coach and cousin Snoop Dogg, whose Snoop Youth Football League he participated in.

The message: “Do it big and do it for the coast. Put on for my city, but really just stay focused and just be another SYFL legend.”

He’s hoping he can do that with the Gamecocks and do it quickly. South Carolina returns five “starters” from last year’s secondary, plus one situational reserve, but the staff wants enough competitive depth to rotate and there’s plenty of room for improvement with the current group.

Nixon said he can play anywhere – corner, safety, nickel – but he wouldn’t mind working in more at nickel.

Nixon was an unranked recruit out of Salesian High School in 2015. In his first year at Arizona Western College, he played a little offense, returned a few kicks and picked off five passes. A year later, he made 30 tackles, got three sacks and picked off six more passes.

He initially signed last December but got delayed because of an issue with a class. He’s still working through that, and he spent the spring at home in California.

Nixon worked out with a trainer there, and although he’s missing time with Jeff Dillman and the Gamecocks’ strength staff, he’s not out of the loop.

“Coach Dillman, that’s my guy,” Nixon said. “I talk to him all the time. Texts me, tells me to stay focused, stay on my grind and be ready to come in and play right away.”

To get that chance, he’ll compete against the two Class of 2017 defensive backs already on campus, Jaylin Dickerson and Kaleb Chalmers, plus three other incoming defensive backs and the returners. Last season, USC was stretched so thin it played its three corners almost every play late in the year.

At 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, Nixon should be versatile to help somewhere. He’ll look to do it quickly as he makes his way to a new part of the country, eschewing most players’ natural inclinations and trying something different as he looks toward higher goals.

“It’s really a culture shock,” Nixon said, “but I can adapt to anything.”

This story was originally published May 22, 2017 at 9:14 AM with the headline "‘Culture shock’ ahead: Keisean Nixon ready for big trip to join Gamecocks."