We get more than our share of college football recruiting hype here in Nebraska, so I’m glad it’s just about over. What is hype in Nebraska? Well, Coach Pellini’s 2:30 press conference, the first time that he can actually talk about the recruits, is going to be carried on all the Nebraska network stations. That’s for those who didn’t read the front page article in this morning’s paper.

The whole football recruiting process has one very distasteful thing for me that doesn’t seem to exist in college baseball recruiting. When a football player makes a verbal commitment, it really does no good because the other schools keep recruiting him! There is absolutely no sense of honesty or decorum in football recruiting once a kid says “I’m going to go to State U.” A verbal commitment means absolutely nothing, which is one of the reasons why the signing day is so important.

I have heard isolated instances of a school recruiting a baseball player after he has given a verbal commitment, but it’s very rare. One reason is strictly practical; in baseball you often have only one staff member doing all the recruiting, while in football you have a dozen or so coaches doing the same thing. There simply isn’t the time for a baseball recruiter to harass and cajole a kid who has said he’s going another direction.

Another reason is that the world of baseball coaches and baseball recruits is much smaller than the football world. Everyone knows everyone else. If a coach from School A is calling a player who has committed verbally to School B, the coach from School B is going to here about it and there are going to be words exchanged.

I’d like to think that baseball coaches are more honest than football coaches but that might be a stretch. I do know the saying that money is the root of all evil applies more strongly to the immense cash flows of college football than the back fields of college baseball, which might be more to the point.

Class of 2006

In thinking about the baseball/football relationship for recruits, I was reminded what an outstanding class of dual sport athletes existed in 2006, the class that is now eligible for the 2009 baseball draft. Some of them have gone on to enjoy significant success on the football field, which isn’t surprising in retrospect when you look at their athletic ability. Others used their football prowess to help enrich their baseball careers, while others are still working both sides of the field, so to speak.

Here are some of those Class of 2006 Baseball/Football players:

QB/OF/RHP Jake Locker (U. Washington): Locker is an exceptionally talented quarterback playing for a struggling football program. Out of high school he was known as a low to mid 90’s pitcher, but when he appeared briefly in summer baseball this year, it was as a power hitting outfielder. If Locker dedicated himself to baseball (and he isn’t playing this spring), he’d likely be a first round pick.

QB/OF D’Vontrey Richardson (Florida State): Richardson hit .351 in 2007 as a freshman at Florida State, but took a baseball redshirt in 2008 to concentrate on football, where he threw for 315 yards and 3 TD’s as the Seminoles back up quarterback.

WR/OF Riley Cooper (Florida): Cooper received plenty of publicity as part of Florida’s gridiron version of a track team, where 6-4, 215 lb receivers run 4.3 40’s. Cooper ran a 6.29 60 at the 2005 PG National Showcase, so no surprise there. Cooper started 16 games for the Florida baseball team in 2008, hitting .207-2-10. His baseball skills have always been very raw, but he’s an absurdly talented athlete.

RB/OF Toby Gerhart (Stanford): Gerhart ran for 1,145 yards and 15 touchdowns during his red shirt sophomore season in 2008, just about what you might expect of a 6-1, 232 lb athlete who ran a 6.35 at the 2005 PG National. Gerhart hit .217-5-16 last spring after .289-2-12 as a freshman. While he’s obviously a big football prospect, his baseball skills appear to be more advanced than most two sport standouts.

OF/WR Jared Mitchell (Louisiana State): Some teams liked Mitchell as a potential 1^st round pick in 2006 but his commitment to play both sports at LSU scared everyone off. He caught 9 passes for 106 yards as a backup receiver for the Tigers in 2008, while hitting .297-6-29 as the Tigers starting centerfielder. He remains a potential high pick for the 2009 draft.

P/RHP Eric Maust (Notre Dame): Maust doubles up as a weekend starter for the Fighting Irish on the mound (6-3, 4.52 in 2008) and as a punter on the football team (41.1 yards on 54 punts this past fall). There is a rich connection between baseball and kicking for some reason, as two #1 overall picks, Darin Erstad and Phil Nevin, were also college punters. Notre Dame, along with Stanford, is also probably the one school in the country that encourages two-sport athletes the most, including current senior QB/1B Evan Sharpley and Chicago Cubs RHP/former WR Jeff Samardzija.

LB/OF John Bivens (Virginia): Bivens played two injury plagued seasons as a 6-1, 233 lb linebacker/safety at Virginia before quitting football this past fall due to lingering knee problems. Although he hadn’t played baseball since coming to Virginia, the baseball team has welcomed him, remembering Bivens as one of the most intriguing power prospects in the 2006 high school class.

SS Brent Brewer (Brewers): The 6-2, 190 lb Brewer was signed to go to Florida State to play wide receiver but signed with Milwaukee as a 2^nd round pick. He hit .251-11-49 with 42 steals in 2007 and split 2008 between low and high A ball. Keep thinking about the 60 at the 2005 PG National; Brewer ran a 6.28.

OF Derrick Robinson (Royals): Robinson was the top speed player in the Class of 2006 (baseball) and fittingly had signed a football ride with Florida (see Riley Cooper above) to play defensive back. He parlayed his 6.19 speed (2005 PG National) into 2^nd round money in the 4^th round from the Royals. Robinson hit .245-0-34 with 62 steals in the Carolina League in 2008.