TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Travell Dixon has decided to leave Alabama Crimson Tide for family reasons. The junior college transfer from East Arizona Community College confirmed to TideNation his intent to transfer.
The 6-foot-1, 191-pound cornerback out of Miami enrolled in January and was expected to compete for a spot in a secondary that lost three starters to the NFL. Alabama coach Nick Saban told reporters in late March that Dixon was moving around a lot on defense, playing multiple positions, and was experiencing what he called "a little overload."
"Travell Dixon has decided to leave the team for personal reasons," Saban said in a news release. "We certainly hate to see any player leave our program, but we understand the situation and we wish him the best of luck in the future."
Dixon's coach at East Arizona, John O'Mera, told TideNation that Dixon was "a hard-working kid who kept his nose clean." Dixon had four interceptions his sophomore year at East Arizona and clocked in at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
"The kid really took to the notion of being a football player," O'Mera said. "He started studying and doing the extras and working -- whatever he needed to do he was out there on his own doing it. That's when we knew we had a pretty good kid."
Dixon's departure from Alabama leaves the Tide again in search of experience at defensive back. Another junior college transfer, Deion Belue, has drawn rave reviews this spring and fall, and junior Dee Milliner is expected to compete for the starting job at cornerback. Junior John Fulton saw the field his freshman and sophomore years and could see significant playing time as well.