STARKVILLE — Anthony ‘Boobie’ Dixon and junior running back Kylin Hill shared a moment.
Visiting Starkville earlier this fall, Dixon took the chance to chat with Hill, Mississippi State’s much ballyhooed and dynamic tailback. As had been the case when Dixon was given comparable speeches from former Bulldog running backs Jerious Norwood and Dicenzo Miller years prior, Hill was quiet and receptive.
“Oh man it’s been great watching Kylin,” Dixon told The Dispatch. “It’s been really enjoyable seeing him be the best back in the SEC and be a leader for the team with his play.”
Now a few weeks on from their conversation, Hill sits just 44 yards shy of Dixon’s MSU single-season rushing record of 1,391 yards heading into the Bulldogs’ matchup with Louisville in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30.
And while the record may no longer belong to Dixon come New Year’s Eve, he’s more than supportive of Hill’s efforts.
“I love football, and I know a lot of people in Mississippi love it too,” he said. “So it’s all fun, good vibes. I don’t feel no type of way about (the record) falling. I think my place in history is going to be there, it’s going to stay there. I’m not going nowhere anytime soon. I just enjoy it all — take it in stride.”
Entering his senior season in 2009, Dixon had attained national acclaim for his ability between the lines. A bruising runner at 6-foot-1, 235 pounds, he had already set MSU freshman records with 668 yards, 169 attempts and nine rushing touchdowns during his first year in Starkville.
Dixon backed that up by setting the MSU single-season rushing attempts record as a sophomore by grounding and pounding his way to 1,066 yards on 287 carries. He added another 869 yards on 197 carries during his junior campaign.
Then came 2009.
Rounding back into the form that made him the SEC’s fifth-leading rusher the year before, Dixon finished the season as the nation’s 14th most prolific rusher and earned himself MSU’s single-season rushing record with 1,391 yards and 12 touchdowns on 257 carries despite having been suspended for the season opener against Jackson State following an offseason DUI.
“It was one of the best years of my life,” Dixon said of his senior season. “I was playing probably the best ball of my life. It started out kind of rough because I got suspended for the first game of the season, but I kind of used that as motivation, and it kind of carried me throughout the season. I was definitely trying to make it up to my teammates and the university and the fans because I knew it was my last time being out there, and I just really wanted to go out with a bang.”
As for Hill, his story continues to be written. Having battled injuries throughout his first two years at MSU, the preseason narrative surrounding him was when he would get hurt rather than an if. Instead, Hill has been a workhorse, notching 235 carries in 12 games of action.
With a clean bill of health, he raced to an SEC-leading 1,347 yards in the regular season, sits second in the conference with an average of 112.5 yards per game and has hit the 100-yard mark eight times.
“Just to see him come out and have that type of year and be on the cusp of breaking Boobie’s record — who had an unbelievable year — and all the great backs who have played at Mississippi State, that has really carried on the tradition of what tailbacks in this offensive system have done over the years,” coach Joe Moorhead said. “It is great to see Kylin next in the line.”
This isn’t to say Hill’s 2019 has been flawless. A mid-year lull in games against Auburn, Tennessee and LSU saw Hill total just 92 yards on 43 carries over that three-week span. But instead of succumbing to frustration, he refocused. Rather than dancing side to side in the backfield, Hill worked with running backs coach Terry Richardson to get farther downhill on each carry. It worked.
Hill concluded his year with 130 or more yards in four of MSU’s final five games, including a 234-yard, three-touchdown explosion at Arkansas that now marks the second-highest in-game total in program history.
“I just had to go over the film of previous games where I didn’t do well,” Hill said after the Arkansas game. “I had to learn when to be aggressive and when to be finesse. Once I get one-on-one I can be finesse, but when I’m with a crowd of guys I’ve got to hit the hole and get what I can.”
Sitting on the precipice of Dixon’s record, Hill heads to Nashville to face a Louisville defense that ranks No. 115 of 130 FBS teams — the fourth-worst mark in Power Five football. The unit has also allowed nine 100-yard rushers this season.
Ten years removed from his final game in the maroon and white, Dixon will be in attendance to watch Hill’s final game at MSU, as the latter has already declared for the 2020 NFL draft. And while his record is almost assured to fall, Dixon remains both excited for Hill and cognizant of his own place in the MSU history books.
“You can tell that (Hill) put in the work, and he earned this moment,” Dixon said. “I think I’m going to be just like everybody else — smiling and proud. It’s going to be a little bittersweet, but at the same time it’s no hard feelings. I’m going to be happy and smiling just like I’ve always been.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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