Will Sully give DJ Lagway the opportunity to also play baseball?

Apopka has had 2 of our dual guys....Rod and Dwight Edge

 

Hell yea.

Stuff can happen, but this kid seemed to have a pretty level head. His intentions were to commit early so he can help build the class.

 

Yeah it's a good recruiting sell but I just don't see how a guy can deal with spring practice and baseball, plus it's not like he's getting any reps in fall ball. Kyler Murray did it at Oklahoma in 2018 (same year he later won the Heisman) and had decent numbers .296 10 HR's 47 RBIs but his well publiclized lack of worth ethic/film study probably played a part. We should be glad Sully at least plays a part in letting guys know the option is available in the recruiting process but ultimately that's just too much on a kid's plate.

 

Herbert Perry played baseball and football for the Gators from the late 80s to early 90s. He was the first that I remember that was successful at both.

 

It was interesting that Tebow didn’t give baseball a shot while at UF since he later gave it a shot with the Mets after his football days were over. But he is a good example of a highly successful dual sport athlete in highschool who tried to concentrate on one sport in college to be the best he could be.

 

Great baseball....not sure he did much on the gridiron

 

Baseball is the toughest sport to play in my opinion. If you fail 7 out of 10 times at the plate you still considered a success hitting. You are just never going to find very often superstar players at college level doing well in both baseball and football because the practice schedules along with academics just run into each other too much. I’m not saying it’s impossible but the only way it can work really depends upon the positions you are trying to play and as said what type of responsibilities you currently have in either sport. Gavin Dickey backup UF Quarterback indirectly allowed more time in baseball in the end where probably can say had more success or impact on the field. The more difficult the position the harder it becomes. It is not like high school where you can get away with it because college brand competition is not easy. You would need to be a unicorn type of athlete who is very very high IQ and someone that is highly adaptable. A natural borne athlete, a once in generation type of athlete. Tebow chose the right sport. I saw him enough in high school to get baseball was not a good option to him going to college. Once you stop playing baseball that is it and there is no going back given the difficulties of getting used to hitting again. Hitting the ball is reflex that needs a ton of practice time.

 

Great points Bear—

 

I just can't imagine a kid doing spring football and baseball games at the same time let alone the qb obviously the most important guy in all of sports. It's shocking to think Kyler Murray did it at Oklahoma in 2018 hitting .296 with 10 homers and 47 rbis, no big deal just the same year he won the Heisman. Explains why the A's took him at #9 in 2018.
Kyler Murray Amateur & College Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

 

Rick Leach was pretty good as a quaterback at Michigan and OK baseball player. IIRC he was a first round pick in baseball.

Bo Jackson was a great football player and a decent baseball player.

 

Didn’t Lon Kruger get drafted by the NFL, MLB, and NBA?

 

This is from Wikipedia:
Kruger was born and raised in Silver Lake, Kansas. As a point guard, Kruger led the Kansas State Wildcats to back-to-back Big Eight championships in 1972 and 1973 under coach Jack Hartman. Kruger was named the Big Eight Player of the Year in 1973 and 1974, after being named the Big Eight Sophomore of the Year in 1972. He was also a shortstop on the Kansas State baseball team.

He was a ninth-round pick of the Atlanta Hawks in the 1974 NBA draft.[1] Kruger also tried out with the Detroit Pistons, and played professionally in Israel. He also played a season of minor league baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals organization and was invited to training camp with the Dallas Cowboys as a quarterback.[2]

 

Still impressive

 

Neon Deion was a pretty decent pro football/baseball player.

I think that D. J. Dozier also played pro in both sports in the modern era.

That and Bo Jackson makes some elite company.

Sorry, Tim Tebow. You just weren't good enough at baseball.

 

In this vein—not top tier athlete, but mid-late 60’s and early 70’s Atlanta had a 6’8” RHP name of Ron Reed that also played basketball in the NBA.

During his time in Atlanta he was interviewed after a start and he commented on wearing the Wilson Kangaroo hide baseball spikes in size 15 medium—Yep, that’s what I had just grown in to and they were not available to the public.

My Dad called the clubhouse, the call went through, and my Dad talked with Ron Reed. He hooked us up with their equipment manager and I wore Wilson’s the rest of my career (playing and coaching)!

Good times!!!

 

Here is a guy that should be a trivia question. Preston Pearson. College basketball player that had a decent NFL carreer after not playing a down in college.

 

I will buy the shoes and you can wear the boxes. LOL.

Dave DeBusschere played for the Knicks and pitched for the White Sox. Another baseball/basketball pitching pair.

Didn't Danny Ainge play for the Blue Jays and then the Celtics?

Charlie Ward was a Heisman winner and yet played in the NBA with the Knicks.

 

My very first baseball card was Ron Reed, still have it

 

As someone early 30s so he was before my time that Bo Jackson 30 for 30 was great, truly an insane athlete. Imagining a guy running for 100 yards a game in the fall then hitting a ball 450 feet in the spring is nuts.

 

I played some pick-up hoops at Florida Gym with Willie Jackson, Jr., who played both football and basketball at UF.