Feleipe Franks taken in 2019 MLB Draft

Florida Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks used a breakthrough 2018 season to get drafted — just in a different sport.

The Boston Red Sox selected Franks with the 947th pick in the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft. Franks hasn’t played baseball competitively since his junior season of high school prior to enrolling early at Florida in 2016.

This isn’t the first time the Red Sox have selected a Florida quarterback. Boston used the 863rd pick in the 2013 MLB Draft to select Jeff Driskel. The former Florida quarterback hadn’t played baseball since his junior season in high school, like Franks. At the time Driskel did sign a deal with the Red Sox. Players can sign and even accept money from a professional baseball team and maintain eligibility in another sport, in this case football.

Franks was rated the 500th player in the country prior to his senior season according to Perfect Game.

There’s no danger for the Gators here. Franks is committed to playing football for the Gators, even if he decides to sign with the Red Sox, similar to Driskel.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC