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Alabama quarterback Phillip Ely (12) throws in passing drills during the Crimson Tide's 12th 2013 Season Spring football practice, a scrimmage, Saturday, April 13, 2013, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

DESTIN, Florida

--

Phillip Ely

says he's ready for his next "great opportunity" and has no hard feelings about how his past two years unfolded at Alabama.

In an interview Wednesday with

, Ely said Alabama coach

Nick Saban

was "very supportive" of his decision to transfer and helped him

.

"He told me he'd get in contact with whoever I needed," Ely said. "He was really supportive in that part. Sometimes those things can be very bitter, but in this case it really wasn't."

Ely said he visited Toledo's campus last week and will enroll for summer classes, which begin next month. He also considered Illinois, Vanderbilt and South Florida.

The Rockets, coached by 33-year-old

Matt Campbell

, are one of the Mid-American Conference's consistently good teams. They went 9-4 in 2012 and have qualified for a bowl game in each of the past three years.

"It's a young staff, very energetic staff," Ely said. "It seemed like they've got a great thing going there. Part of the MAC, very hard and competitive division. Just seemed like a great fit for me and what I do. It kind of felt like what I got recruited for out of high school, running the spread and throwing the ball. Just felt like a good fit for me."

A 2011 signee from Tampa's Plant High School, Ely redshirted his first season at Alabama and saw sparse action in 2012. In six games, he completed 3-of-4 passes for 42 yards and one touchdown.

One of six scholarship quarterbacks competing for repetitions during the spring, Ely only saw the field for a few plays at Alabama's A-Day spring game.

"I've been around great athletes and great football minds and I've learned so much from my teammates (at Alabama)," Ely said. "All these things can be used at Toledo and I am just ready to get started there and use those things."