Dizon attended the
University of Colorado Boulder, where he played for the
Buffaloes from 2004 to 2007. He first played
safety as a true freshman at Colorado, but was moved to linebacker before the season began. On September 4, 2004, playing against
Colorado State University, Dizon became the first true freshman in school history to start a season opener at inside linebacker. Playing in all 12 games as an 18-year-old, Dizon easily set the school freshman record for tackles in a season with 82. Over the next two years, Dizon continued to rack up the tackles, posting 61 in 2005 and 137 in 2006. The latter number was most tackles made by a CU player in nearly a decade (
Ryan Sutter had 170 in 1997). During 2007, Dizon posted a single-game career-high in tackles against CSU (22) and set the single-season school record for third-down stops, with 19 in 12 games. Rarely leaving the field for the Buffs, Dizon missed only 34 of Colorado's 830 defensive snaps during the 2007 season. His 160 tackles were nearly double the next closest player on the team (safety Dan Dykes registered 83), and he finished his senior season with the most total tackles of any player on any
Division I team in the nation. Colorado linebackers coach
Brian Cabral, who recruited Dizon out of high school, called the senior "the most complete, every down player that I've ever coached." given each year to college football's best linebacker. Dizon was recognized as a consensus first-team
All American, after receiving first-team honors from the
Walter Camp Football Foundation, the
Associated Press,
Sporting News, and
Rivals.com for the
2007 NCAA Division I-A football season, and was named the
Big 12 Conference's Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. A four-year starter for the Buffs, Dizon finished his collegiate career as the second-leading tackler among all active players.
College statistics Awards and recognition • 2004 • Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year • Defensive Freshman of the Year (Big 12 Coaches) • Second-team
Freshman All-American (
The Sporting News, Rivals.com) • Honorable mention All-Big 12 (
Associated Press) • Freshman All-Big 12 team (The Sporting News) • 2005 • Honorable mention All-Big 12 (Big 12 Coaches) • 2006 • Second-team All-Big 12 (
Associated Press) • Honorable mention All-Big 12 (Big 12 Coaches) • First-team All-Big 12 (San Antonio Express-News) • Butkus Award watch list • 2007 • Consensus First-team All-American • Walter Camp Football Foundation • The Sporting News • Associated Press • ESPN • Rivals.com • Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year • Rivals.com •
Phil Steele's College Football • Mid-season All-Big 12 ==Professional career==