When most high school standouts pick a college, they pick a program with national prestige or world-class athletic and academic facilities.While Mississippi State arguably has both, something else attracted junior tailback Anthony Dixon to the Bulldogs.”I wanted to be close to home,” he said. “I wanted to be here and represent the great state of Mississippi and prove that the best players come from here.”Dixon had a decorated career at Terry High School, rushing for 2,683 yards and 31 touchdowns his senior season.The Jackson native received interest from most Southeastern Conference schools, including LSU.Tigers’ coach Les Miles said LSU had preliminary interest in Dixon but wasn’t able to offer him a scholarship because of needs at other positions.Miles said when his staff scouted Dixon, they knew he’d be a special player.”He’s a big 230-pounder who we looked at when we were recruiting and really felt that he would be a good player,” Miles said.Dixon limited his choices to Mississippi State, Mississippi and Southern Miss before deciding to sign with the Bulldogs.”I knew some of the guys already out here, and I just thought it was the best fit,” he said. “Coach [Sylverter] Croom sat me down and told me what they expected from me, and everything went from there.”The jump to the next level was a slow and painful transition for Dixon, as an ankle injury caused him to miss most of summer camp before his freshman season.Dixon also had occasional run-ins with Croom, who didn’t always like the work ethic his tailback displayed in practice.”Football has always come easy to Anthony, and I think that could have been part of the problem,” Croom said earlier this season.But when Croom gave Dixon an opportunity to start, he took the job and ran with it, rushing for 668 yards and nine touchdowns in 2006.Dixon followed up with an 1,066-yard and 14-touchdown sophomore campaign.But the biggest improvement came in the standings as the Bulldogs went 8-5, including a 10-3 win against Central Florida in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.”Playing well and losing is never fun for anyone,” Dixon said. “All the yards and touchdowns are one thing. But getting conference wins and bowl game wins are another.”The Bulldogs have taken a step back in the standings so far this season, winning just one of their first four games.But Dixon has still posted high numbers through four games, rushing for 270 yards and two touchdowns this season.Despite the slow start, LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson knows for the Tigers to control the Mississippi State offense this weekend, they have to focus their attention on Dixon.”He’s a hard runner,” Jackson said. “He likes to bounce off hits, so as a defense we have to make sure that when we get our hands on him, we get him to the ground.”Dixon has yet to conquer the LSU defense in his career and has just 49 yards on 21 carries in two games against the Tigers.Dixon said he knows he can have a breakthrough game in his third try.”I know that they ain’t any better than us,” he said. “It’s all about the game plans and who executes theirs the best on Saturday.”—-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]