WRAL Sports Fan

College Football

Russell Wilson picked by Rockies in 4th round

Jun 8, 2010

RALEIGH, N.C. — Russell Wilson hopes to be both North Carolina State's quarterback and a minor leaguer with the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies took Wilson on Tuesday in the fourth round of the baseball draft. He says he's "looking forward to getting out there and being a Rocky, but I also plan on coming back and playing football this fall.

"They're both my loves," added Wilson, who batted .205 last summer with the Gastonia Grizzlies of the wooden-bat Coastal Plain League.

Colorado selected the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference football rookie of the year with the 140th overall pick. Wilson says he probably will play second base or center field.

Among the lingering unanswered questions: When will he report to one of the Rockies' farm teams? And how long will he stay before returning to Raleigh for preseason football camp?

Still, Wilson expressed confidence that he'll be able to play both sports.

"They know my situation. They know that I play football and baseball," Wilson said. "We'll continue to talk and figure this thing out."

N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien said it would be best for both his quarterback and the team for him to be on campus when camp starts Aug. 3, and he plans to talk to Wilson on Wednesday and come up with a plan.

"There's certainly a lot of things that we have to discuss from an NCAA standpoint," O'Brien said. "We have to get those things ironed out, but as far as we talked today, he has no agent, he signed no contract, he's taken no money. ... He wants to play football (too)."

Wilson led the ACC with 31 touchdown passes as a sophomore last season, and set an NCAA record with 379 consecutive pass attempts without an interception. He hit .306 with three home runs and 12 RBIs, and pitched in 10 games, making one start, and was 0-1 with a 5.84 ERA.

He joins a Rockies' organization that certainly has no shortage of quarterbacks: Colorado also drafted Kyle Parker of ACC rival Clemson in the first round, and first baseman Todd Helton played QB at Tennessee while outfielder Seth Smith backed up Eli Manning at Mississippi. The Rockies even spent a 46th-round draft choice in 2006 on Damion Carter, a quarterback at Southern Mississippi.

But no matter the sport he's playing, Wilson has never been a player who defines himself by the position he plays.

"I don't want to be looked at just as a quarterback," Wilson said. "I'm a baseball player when I get there, and I'm a quarterback when I get here."

Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent said a lot of organizations were high on Wilson. "His make-up is off the chart," Avent said referring to Wilson's athleticism. "The guy is just mentally tough and he will find a way to beat you."

Avent said there was talk that Wilson could be taken in the 2nd round even with his limited playing time at N.C. State. The reasons?

"You take this kind of athlete," Avent explained. "With his desire to succeed and put that with everyday reps in baseball and he'll be a major leaguer."

Wilson's father has been in poor health and his condition may have an impact on Russell's future. The redshirt junior has said that he plans to return to N.C. State and play football but that was before he was drafted.

Elliott Avent said he and Wilson talked for quite some time after he was drafted but the coach has no idea what Russell will do.

"He'd be a great poker player," Avent joked. " He never shows his hand."