The Major League Baseball draft took place this week and had surprise reverberations across the college football world. Oklahoma quarterback and former Rivals100 prospect Kyler Murray went in the first round, as did 2018 North Carolina wide receiver signee Jordyn Adams.
Even former five-star quarterback Shea Patterson, expected to be the starter for Michigan this fall, heard his name called in the later rounds. While Adams is giving up football to chase his baseball future, both Murray and Patterson are expected back on the gridiron this year, with Murray planning to pursue both sports going forward.
His decision gave us an idea to take a look back at some football players who decided to play both sports and how things worked out.
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As a recruit: A two-star in the class of 2007, Wilson didn’t have many options in terms of college suitors and he committed to N.C. State over Duke during the summer following his junior year.
As a football player: Wilson’s story is well-known by now as he starred at N.C. State before transferring to Wisconsin for his senior year in 2011 and helping lead the Badgers to the Rose Bowl. Wilson went on to be a third-round draft pick of the Seahawks in 2012, a season that saw him win the starting job and Rookie of the Year honors as well. Wilson is a four-time Pro Bowler and he quarterbacked the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title in 2013.
As a baseball player: Wilson was drafted in the 41st round of the 2007 MLB Draft, but turned down a $350,000 signing bonus from the club enroll at N.C. State later that year. Wilson played three seasons for the N.C. State baseball team, batting .282 with five home runs in his college career. Wilson was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the fourth round of the 2010 MLB Draft and signed with the club. That summer he played 32 games with the Rockies' Class A affiliate Tri-Cities and batted .230 with two home runs. Wilson’s decision to play minor league baseball again in 2011 drew the ire of then-N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien, which led to his decision to transfer to Wisconsin. That season he played 61 games for the Rockies' Class A affiliate Asheville, batting .228 with three home runs. In 2012, Wilson stepped away from baseball to prepare for the NFL Draft.
As a recruit: A five-star in the class of 2012, Winston committed to Florida State prior to the start of his senior season in high school. He still took official visits to Alabama, LSU and Stanford, before re-affirming his commitment after an official visit to Tallahassee.
As a football player: Winston’s career on the gridiron is well-chronicled, as he led the Seminoles to a national championship as a redshirt freshman and also won the Heisman Trophy. He led the ‘Noles to the College Football Playoff as a sophomore where they lost to Oregon in the semifinals. Winston was selected No. 1 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was the NFL Rookie of the Year in the 2015 season.
As a baseball player: Winston was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 15th round of the 2012 MLB Draft, but passed on pro baseball to enroll at Florida State. While he redshirted as a freshman football player, Winston played as a true freshman for the ‘Noles baseball team in 2013 as an outfielder and pitcher. In 2014, Winston served as the team’s closer, recording seven saves and a 1.08 ERA in 33 innings pitched. He elected not to play baseball in 2015 in order to prepare for the NFL Draft.
GOLDEN TATE
As a recruit: Tate started collecting offers following a breakout junior season and his recruitment came down to a handful of programs, including Vanderbilt, Alabama and Notre Dame. A December official visit sealed things for the Irish and he committed two weeks later.
As a football player: Tate went on to have a great career with the Irish, recording more than 1,000 yards receiving as a sophomore in 2008 and then having one of the best seasons in Irish history as a receiver with nearly 1,500 yards in 2009. Tate won the Biletnikoff Award for his efforts that season and went on to be a second-round draft pick of the Seahawks in 2010. In his eight-year career, Tate has gone over 1,000 yards receiving three times and was a Pro Bowler in 2014.
As a baseball player: Tate was taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 42nd round of the 2007 draft, but elected to enroll at Notre Dame rather than sign with the club. He spent two seasons on the Notre Dame baseball team, having his best season as a sophomore in 2009, when he hit .329 over 55 games. Despite not playing baseball as a junior, Tate was selected in the 50th round of the 2010 draft by the San Francisco Giants. He elected to start his NFL career, though, and hasn’t played baseball since 2009.
As a recruit: Locker was highly-coveted by college coaches across the country but especially in the Pac-12, where Oregon, Washington, Cal, USC and Stanford battled for his services. However, he elected to stay close to home and play for the Huskies, committing prior to his senior year of high school.
As a football player: Locker was a star at Washington despite battling various injuries, winning Pac-12 freshman of the year in 2007 and eventually helping the Huskies reach the Holiday Bowl as a senior in 2010. Locker’s 7,639 passing yards rank fourth all-time in Washington history. Locker went on to be a first-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2011. He once again battled injuries, appearing in 30 games over four season before abruptly retiring in 2015.
As a baseball player: Locker was drafted in the 40th round of the 2006 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels but elected to enroll at Washington rather than turn pro. Despite not playing baseball for the Huskies, Locker returned to the diamond in the summer of 2008 to player for the Bellingham Bells of the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League. He earned quite a bit of praise for his showing and was later drafted by the Angels again in the 10th round of the 2009 MLB Draft and he signed with club that same offseason. However, he returned to play football at Washington and never played a game in the Angels' organization.
As a recruit: Dixon’s recruitment saw its share of twists and turns, and included a battle among five programs: Oregon, Oregon State, San Diego State, Washington and Utah. Dixon officially visited each of the programs before making a National Signing Day commitment to the Ducks in 2013.
As a football player: Dixon’s career took some time to get off the ground in Eugene but once he was paired with Chip Kelly in 2007, the duo saw magnificent results. That season, Dixon led Oregon to an upset of Michigan in Ann Arbor and seemed poised to lead the team to the national championship game before suffering a torn ACL late in the season. In 10 games that year, Dixon threw for 2,186 yards while completing 68 percent of his passes and also ran for another 583 yards and nine touchdowns. He went on to be selected by the Pittsburg Steelers in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft and appeared in four total games in his NFL career.
As a baseball player: Dixon was drafted in the 20th round of the 2003 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds, but turned the team down in order to enroll at Oregon. At that time, the Ducks didn’t have a baseball team and despite not playing the sport for four years, Dixon was drafted in the fifth round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves. He signed with the club and played in 28 games for two of the Braves' rookie league teams, batting .176 with five stolen bases. He returned to Oregon to play his senior season on the gridiron and never returned to the Braves' organization.
