Connor Dixon wants to recapture all those feelings again, to once again be in control on the football field.

This time, he's hoping to do it at Duquesne University, where he will enroll this fall after transferring from Michigan State.

It just didn't work out at Michigan State for Dixon, a highly ranked quarterback from South Park High School who led the Eagles to a 16-0 record and the PIAA Class AA championship in 2005. Dixon was named the Associated Press Class AA Player of the Year after completing 98 of 150 passes for 1,868 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior.

"I'm looking to show what kind of player I am," said Dixon, who is recovering from surgery in January to his right (throwing) shoulder. "I needed a new start, absolutely.

"I'm a Division I quarterback in my mind. I can still play like that. Leaving [Michigan State] wasn't a reflection on the type of player I am. I won't look back. I'm staying positive."

Dixon is positive he will compete for playing time at Duquesne, where he will receive an athletic scholarship and have three years eligibility remaining.

"Duquesne is a football program on the rise with a new field, new face-lift to the facilities, a new league and better players," Dixon said of the Dukes, who will move into the Northeast Conference this season and are offering athletic scholarships for football for the first time. "I have every intent of helping the team right away. I want to contribute."

Dixon added after a pause, "But I know nothing's handed to you."

Duquesne, which was 6-4 this past season with Kevin Rombach as the starting quarterback, dominated the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference the past 14 seasons. The now-defunct MAAC didn't permit members to give football scholarships.

The NEC, whose members include Robert Morris and Saint Francis, Pa., competes in NCAA Division I-AA. Coming out of high school, Dixon only considered Division I-A schools.

"I was committed to Division I," he said. "Duquesne wasn't giving scholarships back then."

When he decided to leave Michigan State after sitting out spring drills, Dixon checked out Robert Morris, California University of Pennsylvania, Southern Illinois and Delaware.

"I wanted to play as soon as possible," said Dixon, who sat out the 2006 season with a redshirt and played in just one game in 2007, completing 3 of 5 passes for 37 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against Alabama-Birmingham.

"I feel like things weren't meant to be at Michigan State. There was a coaching change and I had the surgery, those aren't the best odds to become the starting quarterback.

"I kept digging myself a deeper hole and I figured it was time to go somewhere else. It was very frustrating just being in that position. I don't know if I was down on myself, but I was down on the situation."

Dixon was asked if he is surprised that his football career has taken him to Duquesne.

"I'm surprised ... I'm happy, happy to be here," he said. "Things happen for a reason. Being the competitor I've always been, I want to play."

Dixon is able to play right away at Duquesne because he dropped from a school in a higher NCAA division. Had he transferred to another Division I-A school, he would have had to sit out a season under NCAA rules.

Dixon is the second quarterback to transfer to Duquesne from a Division I school in the past 10 years. Tony Zimmerman, a highly touted recruit from Penn-Trafford High School, transferred following his freshman season at Pitt and passed for 7,313 yards and 73 touchdowns in three seasons at Duquesne.

"Having a player of Connor's caliber to transfer to Duquesne says a lot about our program and where we are heading," Duquesne coach Jerry Schmitt said. "He's a proven winner, a great athlete and an exceptional student."

Dixon is looking forward to the opportunity to get back on the field.

"I've practiced a lot the past two years but I haven't been in many official games," he said. "Everything is still there and I'm no different as far as being a competitive type of player than I was back in high school. I'm bigger. I'm stronger. Hopefully I'll be better."