With his NFL journey set to begin, Anthony Dixon feels he's as physically prepared as he can be. But that is not what has been his greatest focus the past few weeks.

A DUI arrest from last summer still looms over Mississippi State's all-time leading rusher, and his character and ability to handle himself off the field is something NFL teams are considering as they decided on whether to draft Dixon.

The NFL Draft's second and third rounds will be held today, with rounds four through seven on Saturday.

"My skills are transferable goods. I play physical. They're going to find out a little more when I get there," Dixon said Wednesday. "They just wanna make sure that I'm gonna be able to handle all the money, all the other stuff that comes with being a professional."

Dixon was arrested for DUI in Starkville last July, and that cost him the season opener. He pleaded guilty and paid a $500 fine.

Dixon is now very aware of the perils of being a professional athlete. He's sought advice from his agent, Bus Cook, and is keeping his eyes wide open.

"I'm just trying to be cool about the situation and think out all my moves before I do anything," Dixon said. "Everybody's coming at me excited, everybody's got their own vision for me, but the main thing about it is I've gotta sit down and make sure I control this ship so I can have control at the end of the day, so I don't be all over the place at the end of the day."

NFL Draft Analyst Mike Detillier doesn't think any character issues will hinder Dixon and sees him as going by the 70th pick. Dixon said Wednesday that the San Diego Chargers were very interested in him, and if they took him it would likely be with the 40th, 91st, or 126th pick.

Dixon is viewed as a third- or fourth-round pick by most analysts, and Detillier is of the majority opinion that Dixon would fit in as a platoon back instead of a feature back.

Those kind of perceived slights are what irk Dixon.

"I don't see where I can't be an every-down back," he said. "I think all the teams know that. They should've seen from last year when I was in the SEC. I've gotta show them again; I'll show them again."

Dixon has been preparing for this day since junior high, when he first realized that he wanted to be an NFL running back. He hasn't slowed his pursuit of the dream since, bludgeoning defenses at Terry High School and then MSU, where he finished with a school record 3,994 career rushing yards.

He's a good downhill runner who's hard to tackle, and he's surprisingly agile for a 235-pounder. One of his patented moves at MSU was hurdling a would-be tackler in the open field.

Dixon can block and is developing into a pass-catcher, skills that could buy him more playing time.

"I'm nervous, I'm excited, I'm cool - it's up and down," Dixon said of the draft. "But I'm just trying to be cool, that's the No.1 thing, I'm trying to be cool, let the chips fall where they may."

Whither Chaney?

Dixon's MSU teammate, inside linebacker Jamar Chaney, has been rising up draft boards ever since being named defensive MVP of the Senior Bowl in January.

Chaney has visited with Atlanta, New England and Philadelphia, according to his Twitter page. Detillier projects him to go late in the third round or early in the fourth.

ESPN.com's seven-round mock draft has Chaney going early in the fourth round to Tampa Bay - 18 spots ahead of Dixon (to New England).

Despite several attempts to contact him, Chaney did not respond to interview requests by the Daily Journal.

Contact Brad Locke at 678-1571 or brad.locke@djournal.com.