BOULDER – Freshman receiver K.D. Nixon is from DeSoto, Texas and you can hear it in his voice. The newest member of the Black Out Boyz is 5-foot-8, 180 pounds and brings a Texas-sized skillset to the Buffs receiving corps. The four-star recruit has already drawn praise from teammates and coaches, and he has big plans for his time at CU.
Nixon’s home state houses some of the best football programs in the country, but he chose to attend CU because it gives him the opportunity to write his own story.
“I picked CU because I wanted to be different and I wanted to start my own legacy,” Nixon said. “I wanted to build something at Colorado.”
Nixon is determined to make a name for himself, and that starts with learning as much as he can from the veteran receivers.
“Being around the veteran guys – they’ve been there, done that,” he said. “They’ve been through adversity and just seeing the outcome that they had last year is a big thing. So learning from them and being around them is teaching me a lot.”
Nixon is focused on improving, but can’t point to any one person who has helped him. Rather, it has been a team effort.
“I stay after practice every day with Derek [McCartney] and do hand drills, Rick [Gamboa] teaches me film, and Shay [Fields] teaches me all the different routes and how to read the DB, so everybody helps basically,” he said.
Though the receiving corps at CU is packed with experience, Nixon knows that he brings something different to the table. But he’s hesitant to say exactly what that is – he’d rather show it on the field.
“Honestly, I bring a lot to the team,” Nixon said with a smile. “But at the end of the day, I like to learn before I do anything. So I’ll just say that I’ll keep learning and then when it’s my time to go, I’ll attack at that point.”
Though he chose to play outside of his home state, Nixon acknowledges that there is something different about Texas receivers.
“Coming from Texas, you know, people struggle differently so we have a different hunger,” he said. “When we come out, we’re looking forward to bringing out the best in all of us, even in practice we like to go hard and compete. That’s one thing about Texas receivers, we compete in everything we do.”
Fellow freshman receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. is also from Texas and played at the same high school as Nixon. While they both chose to play at CU on their own, having each other around has been a benefit, even a motivation.
“Actually, it was a separate decision,” Nixon said. “But when we both committed, it was great. We get to come down with each other and break records as a duo, like Jarvis Landry and Odell [Beckham, Jr.] did.”
Dropping his own name alongside some of the best receivers in the NFL, Nixon obviously has sky high expectations for himself at CU. He wants to be the best receiver in Buffs history, and for him, that’s the only mindset to have.
“I’m gonna break Shay’s records,” he said. “I’m going to break every record, I’m going to be the best receiver to ever come through Colorado. That’s my goal and everybody’s goals should be like that.”
Though they are currently in the shadow of some of the best receivers in CU history, the young Buffs wideouts bring some serious firepower to the offense. Nixon has a determination and a ferocious style of play that could put him in position to dominate the Buffs’ receiving corps for seasons to come.
