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Daviyon Nixon is all smiles before NFL Draft
The NFL Draft get started one week from tonight, but it's not just the fans who are getting more and more excited. One of Kenosha's own is ready for his opportunity.
KENOSHA, Wis. - Daviyon Nixon is a happy man these days.
Why not? Everything is coming into focus for him.
Nixon will get a call during the NFL Draft and embark on a pro football career.
"Basically, I am living out the one dream I've had since I was a little child, so yeah, it's a very exciting moment for me," said Nixon.
Daviyon is a 6-3, 300 pound plus defensive lineman from the University of Iowa.
Before that, he was literally the big man on campus at Kenosha Indian Trail High School.
"I learned so many different things at Indian Trail," Nixon said. "[It taught me] I can't always be the loudest kid just yelling down the hallways to see your friends because I can see everyone. It taught me that I needed to mature and that I needed to focus on school a lot or a lot harder. It also taught me that no matter how hard life gets, you never quit. I know that no matter what I go through, no matter the trials and tribulations, I can push myself through anything."
Nixon says he started to think he might be able to make the NFL when he was an upperclassman at Indian Trail.
After a junior college stop, he became a Hawkeye and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Due to covid limitations, Nixon could have rested on his body of work for NFL evaluators, especially with no scouting combine, but he knew he could enhance his stock through the interview process.
"People used to tell me that I could be a salesman because I talk really well and I talk a lot, so I hope that I sell myself well enough to a team that they have faith in me and they pick me up," said Nixon.
Daviyon is quick to say he has benefited from the support of many coaches and teachers and then there are those who have been with him the longest.
"I'm very big on loyalty and family," Nixon said. "Family is everything to me. My family has been my biggest support system and the most loyal to me in my life."
FOX6's Tim Van Vooren: "I know just texting with your dad, are you kind of carrying on the dream there for him?"
"I guess," said Nixon. "He calls me everyday just to tell me how surreal everything is and how proud of me he is and I have to sit there like, "Ok Dad, thank you Dad." It's an everyday thing."
It is easy to see why Daviyon Nixon sports such a wide smile.
Daviyon plans to spend the first night of the draft in Iowa and the second night at home in Kenosha with family.