Dickerson moved to offensive tackle at Miami and played for the junior varsity team as a freshman in 1981.[7][8] He redshirted as a sophomore in 1982 but lost his extra year of eligibility by accidentally playing in a late-season game; he did not realize that playing in the game would cost him a year of eligibility.[7] In 1983, he did not make any starts but still saw extensive playing time as Miami won the national championship.[9]
The Miami coaching staff changed in 1984 and Dickerson learned that he would not see much playing time.[9] He then transferred to play for the USC Trojans.[7] After sitting out the 1984 season due to transfer rules, Dickerson entered training camp in 1985 preparing to play for USC, but was told that his NCAA Division I eligibility had expired.[9] Division I players were allowed 10 consecutive semesters of eligibility, but Division II players could have non-consecutive college tenures (Dickerson did not attend school for a time in the 1983–1984 school year).[7] He thus transferred again to the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen, a Division II team, although he was ineligible to play in the 1985 season.[7] Dickerson finally had his chance to play in 1986, but was limited after having a knee injury on the first day of practice and a torn tendon in his ankle a week later.[10]
