Duck QB set to fly south for summer.

Byline: Rob Moseley The Register-Guard

What a week for Dennis Dixon.

On Wednesday, six days after being picked by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball draft, the UO senior quarterback signed a professional baseball contract. Today, he graduates from the university with a degree in sociology and a minor in journalism.

And Monday, Dixon is off to Florida, to work out with the Braves' affiliate there in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

"I've got my degree. Now I'm at the level where I need a job," Dixon said. "I see this as a job I want to pursue."

Dixon declined to elaborate on the terms of his contract. Fifth-round picks are slotted to receive about $150,000 in bonus money by the major leagues.

The plan is for Dixon, a right fielder, to spend about two weeks in Florida, then join the Danville Braves of the rookie-level Appalachian League for the remainder of the summer, he said.

And then, Dixon assured, he'll be back in Eugene for fall camp with the football team, as the first-string quarterback entering his senior season of eligibility. There is "no chance at all" that he won't be back, according to Dixon.

"I'm going to be here for sure," he said.

What he will miss, in the interim, will be invaluable summer workouts with his teammates that have essentially become "voluntary" in name only because of their importance in the development of players and teams. With a new system in place under first-year offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chip Kelly, the Ducks would surely benefit from having Dixon around to throw in seven-on-seven drills with his backs and receivers.

Dixon will have a playbook, game film and a football with him for the summer, and pledged to endure a workout plan designed by UO strength and conditioning guru Jim Radcliffe. But it won't be the same as living, socializing and practicing with his teammates every day, he acknowledged.

"Yeah, I'm worried about it," Dixon said. "It's always a thought in your mind," that if he struggles in the fall, his participation in baseball might be blamed.

"I don't want that to happen, so I'm going to bust my butt, do whatever I can in both sports just to be better."

Dixon said his football teammates have been supportive of his decision to try baseball, and he plans to maintain regular contact with them over the summer. UO head coach Mike Bellotti and coordinator Kelly have been supportive as well, though they've cautioned him not to jeopardize his eligibility in any way.

Dixon is no longer eligible to receive an athletic scholarship. He can sign with a baseball agent, but that agent can't have any dealings on behalf of Dixon for football. Were Dixon to be approached with endorsement opportunities, he would have to turn them down if he hopes to play football this fall.

Since the draft, Dixon has been "hanging out with family," he said, and also working at a football camp in Dallas, Texas, with his high school coach. On Wednesday he officially joined the Braves, a team that worked him out in January.

After being drafted out of high school in 2003, and choosing instead to play football, Dixon let his participation in the sport lapse, beyond summer slow-pitch softball, he said. But this winter, after Oregon lost in the Las Vegas Bowl to complete a 7-6 season, Dixon begin hitting baseballs in batting cages, and taking soft tosses from friends.

The Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox and Florida Marlins also contacted him before the draft, Dixon said. But he wasn't surprised that the Braves ultimately snatched him.

"That was the very first one that looked at me," he said. "I think they had an edge on me."

Based on his football skills, Dixon clearly has the speed to cover a lot of territory in the outfield, and a strong throwing arm. As a hitter, he said, "I was pretty much a base-hit sort of guy."

The Braves "want me to play football," Dixon said, and indeed the franchise tried to impart on him its tradition of drafting multi-sport athletes. As an example, they cited current right fielder Jeff Francoeur, who turned down a football scholarship offer from Clemson to sign with Atlanta.

If all goes well in the next seven months, Dixon might be preparing for another draft next April. That would be the NFL draft, another potential job Dixon might want to pursue if the chance arises.

If it does, Dixon's attempts to balance baseball and football next February and March would make the drama of the last week seem relatively tame.

"That's a good question; I haven't really got up to that point yet," Dixon said. "I'm just taking it stride by stride right now."

For now, those strides will be on the outfield turf of a Florida baseball diamond, far away from the grass practice fields of the Oregon football team.