Dizon expected to compete for starting job with Lions

Mike O'Hara / The Detroit News

Monday, May 5, 2008

ALLEN PARK -- Jordon Dizon left the Lions' rookie camp a day early. School bells were ringing, calling him back to the University of Colorado to take final exams on Sunday.

Dizon already had made enough of an impression on the coaches in two days of practice to show that he will compete for a starting job at middle linebacker.

Practices were in shorts and helmets without pads, but Dizon's quickness and instinct stood out.

"He's very aware and very instinctive," Lions coach Rod Marinelli said after Sunday's practice. "He's a very smart guy. We just have to develop his strength. But the movement and the instincts, those things are the hardest to find."

The only issue with Dizon is his size. He weighs 229 pounds, which would be too light for a middle linebacker in some schemes. The Tampa Two stresses quickness. Players of Dizon's size have had success in it. Shelton Quarles, a starter for most of his 10 seasons with Tampa Bay (1997-2006), weighed 225.

Dizon has to prove he can hold up physically to the pounding in training camp and the long NFL season. Marinelli isn't concerned about him gaining more than a few pounds, if that.

"We were comfortable with what we saw out of Colorado," Marinelli said. "He's going to hit. There's no doubt in my mind about that. I've seen that on tape. It's withstanding the gruel of the camp, the pounding of the camp."

Dizon has handled a heavy workload. At Colorado, he had 463 career tackles, including three postseason bowl games, to rank eighth in NCAA history. He had 160 tackles in the regular season in 2007.

He was a productive and versatile athlete at Waimea High School on the Big Island of Hawaii.

He played linebacker and running back. As a junior, he had games of 376, 313 and 275 yards rushing. He scored five touchdowns in two games and four in another. One scouting service ranked Dizon the No. 8 running back prospect in the country. Colorado recruited him to play linebacker.

Dizon also punted in high school. In the state semifinal as a junior, he dropped four punts inside the 10-yard line.

Dizon is a bit of a free spirit. He'll bring some personality to the defense.

He has the words "Kai Nalu" tattooed on his lower right leg -- from the knee to just above the ankle. It means "ocean wave" in Hawaiian.

Dizon borrowed a suit from a roommate at Colorado to wear to a press conference at the Lions headquarters last week. He was asked during mini-camp when he intends to buy his own suit.

"I don't know," he said. "As soon as they go on sale, I guess."

Dizon majored in economics. He took a guitar class as an elective in his senior year but isn't a threat to cover the late John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High."

"I think it's only one hour, and I (stink) at it," Dizon said. "I've been playing for the last three months. I couldn't tell you a chord from a string. They only grade on attendance, which is nice. I've never missed a class."

The Lions will grade him on assignments and tackling, and he put together a good body of work at Colorado.

"In any system that you coach in, a linebacker has to have instincts," said defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who coached linebackers at Tampa Bay. "First and foremost, he must be instinctual. He must be able to see things. He must be able to react to things before they happen. He has those.

"He has insane instincts. You look at his college career -- over 450 tackles. That is instincts. Because he has such good instincts, I think he's going to be able to overcome some shortcomings. He's not the biggest guy, but he fits what we're going to ask him to do."