Steelers Sign Duquesne Alum, Tackle Jake Dixon

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to sign former Duquesne and Bethel Park tackle Jake Dixon as an undrafted free agent, the team announced on Saturday after the 2022 NFL Draft.

Dixon is a 6-foot-6, 290-pound tackle from Pittsburgh. He attended Bethel Park High School, where he played baseball, football and volleyball, before joining the Dukes, but he took a circuitous route to the gridiron. Dixon first committed to play Division-I volleyball at Lewis University.

He joined Lewis in 2015, but in 2017, made the decision to leave the volleyball world and get back into football on the Bluff. He started out as a tight end, appearing in 11 games for Duquesne as a freshman and 13 as a sophomore in 2018, when he made two starts and caught one pass.

In 2019, he became the team’s primary starter at tight end and also became the team’s long snapper. But his role as a tight end was limited to largely a blocker, catching two passes, one of which for a touchdown.

While the 2020 season was postponed to the spring of 2021, Dixon made the move from tight end to tackle. He started all five games that spring, earning AFCA FCS All-America and All-NEC honors at the new spot. This past fall, he again started all 10 games — including Duquesne’s first win over an FBS opponent — and again earned an All-NEC nod.

Dixon is one of 10 undrafted free agents signed by the Steelers on Saturday, including fellow WPIAL alum, former Beaver Falls and Michigan defensive tackle Donovan Jeter. He will be the second Duquesne alum on the squad, alongside long snapper Christian Kuntz.

The team did not add an offensive lineman in the 2022 NFL Draft, and Dixon will start the season slotted behind starters Dan Moore Jr. and Chukwuma Okorafor and backups Joe Haeg, Chaz Green and John Leglue on the team’s depth chart.