Baseball or football for Alabama QB

Hoover (Ala.) is home to one of the state’s top two-sport stars in John Parker Wilson.

A strong-armed quarterback for the defending Class 6A football champions and a potential major league draft pick as an infielder, Wilson should have plenty of options to consider in the months to come.

“I don’t really know right now which sport I want to focus on,” he said. “It’s 50/50.”

Wilson (6-2, 180, 4.7) has football scholarship offers from Clemson, Georgia Tech, Duke and Middle Tennessee. He recently picked up his first baseball offer, from Alabama.

“I’m real interested in Alabama,” he said. “That was pretty exciting to get an offer from them. Football-wise, they seem interested, too. I went to a practice recently and got to talk to coach Shula and coach Raider. I liked them a lot. I like the offense they’re running, too. It’s a lot like ours at Hoover – a lot more passing than I expected. They told me they were going to be watching me close this season.”

Coming off a junior season which saw him throw for 2,634 yards and 25 touchdowns, Wilson is also getting interest from Auburn, Tennessee and Ole Miss.

He camped with Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss this summer, and made an unofficial visit to Georgia Tech when he was in Atlanta for the Team One baseball camp. Rivals scouts consider him a top shortstop/third baseman with “plus” defensive skills and good potential as a right-handed hitter.

“I’m really open right now to all my options,” he said.

Wilson and his Hoover teammates open the season on Thursday against Montgomery Lee. He said his goals are to lead the team to an undefeated championship season.

“It’s never happened at Hoover,” he said. “There’s been a 14-1 team and a 13-1 team, but no one has gone undefeated and won it all.”

In addition to being a top athlete, Wilson maintains a 3.6 GPA and has scored a 24 on the ACT.