Jake Dixon is used to attending night games at Acrisure Stadium. In two days, he’ll get to actually play in one.
Dixon, the undrafted rookie offensive lineman from Bethel Park and Duquesne, will make his debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday when they open the preseason against the Seattle Seahawks.
Dixon’s family has season tickets, and the 6-foot-6, 290-pound tackle attended night games last season against Chicago and Seattle in addition to an afternoon game against Tennessee.
“We’ve been going to that stadium for years,” Dixon said. “To be on the other side of the fence playing on the grass and competing there, I think it’s going to be very exciting.”
Dixon isn’t looking too far ahead to his inaugural pro appearance. The Steelers had a Thursday practice and Friday walk-through awaiting them before they depart camp at Saint Vincent and play in their home stadium.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought about the game hardly at all,” Dixon said. “I’m taking it a snap at a time out here and in the film room, and I’m trying to take all the coaching and make all of the corrections that need to be made. The game is going to come, and it’s going to be exciting, but I really haven’t thought about it.”
Dixon has worked at tackle with the third-team offense in camp as he tries to make the transition from the low-Division I level to the NFL. He was among a handful of undrafted free agents the Steelers signed in May.
Dixon has enjoying the two-plus weeks he has spent in camp at Saint Vincent even if the practice schedule is more rigorous than what he experienced at Duquesne.
“On every play, everyone is flying around. There are guys with mouths to feed out here,” he said. “It’s awesome. That is the biggest difference. Everyone is competing every single play, and if you’re not up to that challenge, you’re going to know it and you’re going to see it. It’s getting your mind ready when you step on the field and not giving up, not letting up and going 100% all the time.
“It’s a grind, a mental battle every day to learn and take the coaching and implement it on the field going as such a fast pace. But it’s football, it’s a lot of fun and the grind is worth it.”
