PSU starter follows in his father's cleats
In senior year, Aaron Dickson finds his niche as strong safety
http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=122592210363026200
“Little Arthur” is doing some big things this year for Portland State.
Strong safety Aaron Dickson has emerged as the starter at the position that his late father, Arthur, played for the Vikings from 1973 through 1976.
PSU offensive coordinator Mouse Davis was the school’s head coach when Arthur Dickson finished a career that included 29 interceptions. When Davis returned to the Vikings last year, he took one look at the young Dickson and dubbed him “Little Arthur.”
But it took Aaron more than a little time to gain a regular starting gig. The former Grant High star, now a senior, had toiled solely on special teams early in his Viking career and then saw limited time as a reserve safety.
Last year, he was shifted to outside linebacker — bulking up to 240 pounds on his 6-1 frame and backing up Jordan Senn, now with the Indianapolis Colts. The Vikings used Dickson at free safety in spring ball this year, before he talked his way back into the strong-safety spot, his favorite.
“It’s the funnest position in coach (Jerry) Glanville’s scheme, because you get to not only cover receivers but make plays and blitz,” Dickson says. “You’ve got to have a motor and be ready to make plays, because they will come.
“But the main thing is, it just feels really good to be playing consistently again, for the first time, really, since high school.”
By his count, Dickson is one of only four players still on hand from 22 in his PSU recruiting class.
And he has done well, as has the Viking secondary, with a few exceptions in a season that stands at 3-5 going into the biggest home game of the season, 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, against Montana.
“It feels good to be a part of something semi-special — and I would say extra-special if we were winning more games,” Dickson says. “Things have gone well at home (the Vikings are 3-0 at PGE Park), but we can’t seem to find a win on the road.”
And personally, “I don’t think I’ve had my best game. Every game, there’s a couple of plays I wish I could go back and do something different.”
As much as Dickson reflects on the previous game, he’s also thinking ahead, because only three games remain before he has to turn in jersey No. 26, the number his dad wore at PSU.
“That’s run through my mind every day — how fast this season was going to go, and what am I going to do afterward,” Dickson says. “After a loss, it seems like the season goes by even faster.”
Coming to PSU — where his brother, Aubre, was a wide receiver in 1995 — has proved to be a good move.
“It’s been great,” Aaron Dickson says. “I’m going to graduate in the spring in social science and criminal justice. I want to work with children, in something along the lines of corrections with inner-city youth.
“That’s the reason I took this scholarship — my mom always taught me that education comes first.”
