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The Dizon Way

Posted November 23, 2007

No matter how long I continue on in this business I'm sure I will never forget Colorado linebacker Jordon Dizon.

The Humble Hawaiian will play his final home game at Folsom Field today against Nebraska and it could be the final game of his career if the Buffs lose.

I remember the day early in training camp in 2004 when I first wrote his name in my notebook. He had made a couple hard hits with startling athleticism in practice and players and coaches were suddenly really excited about a kid none of us in the media really knew anything about.

To that point, he had been listed as an athlete on the roster and coaches were still trying to figure out if he was a safety or linebacker. He had played running back at the western-most high school in the nation of the island of Kauai.

A few weeks later he became the first true freshman in school history to start the first game of his freshman season at inside linebacker. And this is all you need to know about Dizon from there.

He's played in every game since.

Today will be his 48th consecutive regular season game. He's also played in two bowl games for the Buffs, making today's game No. 50 in his career.

You have to be tough to do that, and Dizon is about as tough as they come. He was raised by a mom, who went to work every day with a badge and a gun as a police officer. So, perhaps, it should be no surprise.

As I got to know Dizon a little (I don't know him anywhere near as well as his friends and family) I discovered he rarely wears much more than a pair of flip-flops on his feet. This is true most of the time even when it's snowing and cold in January and February.

I also discovered he hunted wild boar with a dog and a knife growing up on his island. He dived off cliffs. He fished, sometimes with a spear. And whenever you asked him about a play he made or something good happening on the football field, he pointed to someone else and tried to give them the credit.

Often it's a defensive lineman or linebackers coach Brian Cabral.

I got the opportunity to play golf with him and fellow linebacker R.J. Brown one day last summer. On one particular hole, Dizon just absolutely crushed his tee shot. I believe it went 350 yards, roughly. Tiger would have been jealous.

As he was putting his club back in his bag he credited me and Brown for pushing him with our tee shots. Brown probably was. But me and my game were just along for comic relief.

Dizon will play on national television today with a chance to win the Dick Butkus Award as the nation's best linebacker. He is a finalist, the fourth player in CU history to be named a finalist for the honor. He has led the nation in tackles for most of the season, but comes into the game ranked third in total tackles in the NCAA statistics.

He's made 424 total tackles in his career, just one of five Buffs to reach the 300 mark. And he will pass his friend, mentor and former CU Butkus winner, Matt Russell, on the school's solo tackles list today, moving into second place.

If he makes a third-down stop today, he will set a new single-season school record in that category with 19.

None of that means a pile of oysters to Dizon. He has been about team success and winning since that first day he was noticed and began to make a name for himself. Nothing would mean more to him than to beat the rival Nebraska Cornhuskers and earn a bowl trip and one more chance to play.

Dizon was asked this week about how he tries to be a leader to younger teammates. I thought his answer said a lot about him.

“I definitely try to, I want to show that you have to be a team player for this team to be good. We don’t have the best athletes, the fastest guys or the smartest guys but as you play as a team it makes up for those weaknesses. I want to represent a team player, someone who cares about the team and that is the legacy I want to leave behind. Being a team player is more important to me then any career records or individual accolades, what my teammates think about me that matters the most to me.”