Dixon brothers get ‘platinum’ haircuts before NFL draft announcement

The Dixon brothers have shared many things growing up — reputations as star football players in Rock Hill high schools, the same major at the University of South Carolina where they played football, and their dad Gerald Dixon, a former Rock Hill High standout and NFL player.

By the end of this week, the men will share the news to friends and family if they are chosen to play for the NFL. Both men are draft eligible.

On Wednesday, the half-brothers shared a visit to the barbershop, where they took turns getting fresh trims from the same barber, Adrian “Ace” McCrorey at Platinum Cuts barbershop in Fort Mill.

Both Dixons wanted clean-cut, coiffed hairdos for the draft, even if they were unsure whether the event will be a quiet affair at their dad’s house, or if they’ll invite friends and family over for a party.

In McCrorey’s chair, they were just relaxing.

“This is the most time we’ve ever had back at home; we’re just enjoying our time,” said Gerald Dixon Jr., a defensive lineman who played at Northwestern High School and four years at the University of South Carolina.

While sitting in barber chairs facing each other, the brothers’ chit-chat touched on everything but football. Gerald Dixon Jr. talked about a recent hiking trip to the mountains of Georgia, where at the top of a “challenging” climb to the top, he could see four states all at once.

Gerald Dixon was more subdued and relaxed as he tilted his head back for a mustache trim. He chuckled and mumbled in agreement with his brother as he talked about how their 3-year-old niece knows her way around the iPad better than he does, and how spoiled she is.

McCrorey, Gerald Dixon Jr.’s cousin, has been trimming the men’s hair for about 20 years, since they were little boys. The barber is a standout in his own right: last summer, his shop won the award for best barbershop at the Steve Harvey Ford Neighborhood Awards.

On Wednesday as he snipped away at Gerald Dixon’s hair, McCrorey jokingly said he hopes the brothers promote him as an official team barber if they make it to the NFL. He said he will still give them free haircuts, of course.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 8:18 PM with the headline "Dixon brothers get ‘platinum’ haircuts before NFL draft announcement."