Defensive Back and Wide Receiver prospect with very good athletic ability, displaying very good speed, acceleration, change of direction, foot quickness, lateral movement, and good balance and explosiveness. As a WR, he runs clean routes. He is very good at change of direction routes of Comebacks, Curls, Ins, and Outs. He also has the speed to get past defenders in deep routes. Good after the catch, using his speed and elusiveness to pick up extra yards. As a DB, he played Safety and has the flexibility to play Corner. He has very quick hands to jam receivers, with fluid hips to turn and keep coverage on the receiver in his route. I have been high on Ashton since I first saw him and he showed why his senior year.

Hudl / X

Of course the one play I don’t record is when Ashton makes a big play on offense with a deep pass setting up Rustburg in the red zone. I have been high on Ashton ever since I saw him at the Appalachia Prep Combine this past summer and was excited to see him play this week. He plays the deep safety position for Rustburg and shows very good range to cover the field against the pass and the run.

Hudl / X

My colleague Cole Laing first told me about Dixon this past spring and since then his game is starting to get recognized. A lockdown cornerback playing for Rustburg, this young man is a hidden gem. He got his first division 1 offer from VMI two weeks ago.

I have mentioned Ashton once before, but when we went through our initial rankings of the class of 2025, he did not have any Hudl film available. But that has now changed. What I saw at the Appalachia Prep Combine shows in his tape. Ashton has very good athleticism displaying very good foot quickness, change of direction, lateral agility, and hip fluidity, with good foot speed and explosiveness. Can play in Press/Jam coverage and Off coverage. Very good man coverage, displaying very good hand quickness to jam WRs at the line and displays the strength to control them in his press to disrupt the route. His hip fluidity and change of direction along with his good route processing allow him to play in tight coverage, and he displays good speed to match the WR in deep routes. Good ball skills to disrupt the pass with a deflection and he has good hands to make an interception. He has the functional strength to fight through WR blocks to come up and provide good run support and can be trusted to make an open-field tackle. Expect Ashton to make a high jump into our updated 2025 rankings, especially if he has a strong senior season this fall.

Hudl