Senior quarterback and expected starter Dennis Dixon was drafted in the fifth round (168th overall) by the Atlanta Braves in Major League Baseball’s first-year player draft Thursday.
Dixon hasn’t played organized baseball since his senior year of high school when he was drafted in the 20th round by the Cincinnati Reds in 2003.
Calls to Dixon were not immediately returned.
“It’s real surprising,” Dixon recently told the Oakland Tribune. “Baseball has always been an option for me, but right now I am concentrating on being the quarterback of the football team.”
Dixon told the Tribune that he’s worked out for various baseball teams hoping to keep his options open if he’s not selected in the 2008 NFL Draft.
“It has always been a dream for me to be in the NFL, as well,” Dixon said. “It is too early for me to make a decision as to what I want to play. I have been asked, ‘Which one do you like more?’ And I can’t answer that, because I love them both. This just opens another door for me, and I am really excited about it.”
As for the Braves, they have until Aug. 15 to sign Dixon or they will lose their rights to him. Dixon is allowed to sign a professional contract and play the upcoming Oregon season but would lose his scholarship status.
“I am a Braves fan now,” Dixon said to the Tribune. “I have been hearing a lot about their organization and their tradition. They take a lot of football players. They look for athletes, and I am truly an athlete.”
– Jacob May