North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Wilson Says He'll Be Back In Fall
6/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. – Russell Wilson, excited about his opportunity to play professional baseball, intends to report to whichever minor league squad he is assigned by the Colorado Rockies, the franchise that selected the NC State two-sport star Tuesday in the fourth round of major league baseball's draft of amateur players.
But Wilson, the Wolfpack's starting quarterback the last two football seasons, also intends to return to NC State this fall for his junior season on the gridiron.
"I am really excited about it," Wilson said during a teleconference with the media. "I am excited about the opportunity to play professional baseball. I have been working my whole life to be in this situation.
"I am also planning to come back and play football this fall. I want to come back and win an ACC Championship."
Wilson and the Rockies haven't worked out all the details yet, about where and when Wilson will report this summer. There have been no contract talks at this early stage.
"We'll figure that out down the road," Wilson said. "None of that has been discussed yet. I'll put all of that in the Lord's hands and see where it leads me."
Wilson called head football coach Tom O'Brien immediately after he was drafted to let the coach know he planned to return when practice begins on Aug. 3. They talked on multiple occasions during the day, as Wilson prepared to return to his hometown of Richmond, Va., to spend a few days with his family.
"There are a lot of things that have to be discussed, but one thing I know about Russell is he wants to play football and he is set on what he wants to do," O'Brien said. "We have to get all [the details] ironed out. We talked today. He has no agent, he's signed no contract, he's taken no money. Those are issues that have to be resolved.
"But I don't think there is any question, based on several conversations this afternoon, that he intends to play football."
O'Brien admits that it will take someone of exceptional ability to play professional baseball and college football, though it's hardly an unprecedented proposition.
"Russell is a little exceptional in anything he has done," O'Brien said.
The Rockies have some experience with this sort of thing. They already have two former college quarterbacks in their starting lineup and possibly another on the way. Monday, Colorado selected Clemson football-baseball standout Kyle Parker in the first round of the draft Monday night, the 26th overall selection.
After two seasons of juggling football and baseball in the spring, Wilson spent the entire season with Elliott Avent's baseball squad, skipping spring football practice and giving backup Mike Glennon an opportunity to work with the first-team offense.
Wilson went surprisingly high for a player who made 25 starts this season in his 47 games. But he has talked to the franchise throughout the season about his availability and his plans to continue to participate in both sports. As a junior utility player, Wilson batted .306, with 25 runs, five doubles, two triples, three home runs and 12 RBI. He walked 12 times, was hit by pitch six times and struck out 25 times.
This is the second time Wilson has been picked in the baseball draft. He was taken in the 41st round of the 2007 draft by the Baltimore Orioles, following his senior season at Richmond's Collegiate High School.
The Rockies' history of taking dual-sport stars goes back to the franchise's inaugural draft in 1992, when it selected Duke's Quinton McCracken, who spent three years with the franchise (1995-97). Long-time All-Star first baseman Todd Helton played baseball and football at the University of Tennessee, where he was an All-America on the diamond and the backup quarterback to Peyton Manning. Seth Smith, a current starting outfielder for the Rockies, was an All-America baseball player and the backup quarterback to Eli Manning at Mississippi.
Wilson has been the Wolfpack's starter under center since 2008, when he became the first freshman quarterback in ACC history to win first-team all-conference honors. He threw 17 touchdowns and just one interception in that inaugural campaign, leading his team to the Papajohns.com Bowl. Last season, he threw 31 touchdown passes and set an NCAA record for consecutive passes without an interception.
Wilson, who red-shirted one season in football, has played three years for Avent's squad, twice helping the team advance to an NCAA Regional and this year's ACC Championship game. Last summer, he played with the Gastonia Grizzlies of the Coastal Plain League, his only experience so far using a wooden bat.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
