North Hills’ Robert Dickerson commits to Bucknell for both football, baseball

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, October 8, 2021 | 1:00 PM

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College football coaches want Robert Dickerson as a slot receiver, but the North Hills senior knew he didn’t want to put away his baseball glove and bat for good.

So, he found a place to play both.

Dickerson recently committed to Bucknell, where he’ll have an opportunity to play football and baseball at a Division I level in the Patriot League. He chose the Bison over offers from Colgate, Fordham and Holy Cross, among others.

“I couldn’t really get away from playing baseball,” he said. “I’ve been playing my whole life. I know I can play both at the next level. I don’t want to stop.”

Dickerson also was talking seriously with Villanova about a possible football offer and had a preferred walk-on offer from Pitt, but decided Bucknell was his best fit. He visited the Lewisburg campus twice, most recently in July.

“I worked out for them and I fell in love with the place,” said Dickerson, who announced his commitment Wednesday on Twitter.

The 6-foot, 190-pound senior is an outfielder for the baseball team and a wide receiver/defensive back in football. He earned all-section honors in both sports last school year.

Dickerson has six touchdowns this fall for North Hills, including two on punt returns. He also has four receiving TDs with a 53-yarder as his longest.

Bucknell football coach Dave Cecchini’s staff was one of the first colleges to offer him a scholarship in May. When Dickerson shared his desire to play two sports, they added Bison baseball coach Scott Heather to their conversation.

“When they got hold of the baseball coach and when I met up with him, he was very open to the idea,” Dickerson said. “He actually enjoyed the idea. He saw my tape and saw I could play both.”

Heather already has three former WPIAL baseball players on his roster.

Dickerson said he knows playing both will be a challenge but believes it can be done.

“I have to keep a certain GPA during the fall and spring to be allowed to play both,” he said. “My grades can’t slip. That’s the agreement we have.

“Bucknell is high up academically. Their football team had the most all-academic team players the last two years. They’re strict about that.”

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Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: North Hills