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Colorado Rockies executive Bill Schmidt has turned into a big Atlantic Coast Conference football fan this fall.
That's what happens when two of your top draft picks - Clemson's Kyle Parker and North Carolina State's Russell Wilson - are chasing ACC success at quarterback.
''I've become an expert in ACC football,'' the Rockies' vice president of scouting said by phone this week. ''If it's on TV and I'm able to catch it, I'm watching both of them play.''
Schmidt and other Rockies personnel won't need the TV remote this weekend.
Wilson's 23rd-ranked Wolfpack play at Parker's Tigers on Saturday at Death Valley, thought to be the first time two quarterbacks picked by the same Major League Baseball club have faced each other. They'll square off one last time after three seasons of competing on the football field and baseball diamond.
''It'll be a fun battle,'' Parker said. ''It always is.''
Despite their similar athletic paths - Parker was chosen in the first round last June and Russell in the fourth - they've yet to spend much time together.
''We've texted each other here and there before in the past, but we don't know each other that well,'' Wilson said.
That could change in the next few years, especially if both wind up in the Rockies dugout.
''That's what we're hoping,'' Schmidt said.
First, though, is finishing football. Wilson leads the ACC in total offense, yards passing per game and touchdown throws as the Wolfpack (6-2, 3-1) are in the thick of the Atlantic Division race. Parker, who passed up about $800,000 more from the Rockies to return for one more football season, hopes for a strong finish after Clemson's chances to repeat as division winners took a huge hit with a 16-10 loss at Boston College last week.
It looks like North Carolina State's best chance to end a six-game losing streak in the series - and Wilson's best shot at leaving Clemson with a victory. His Wolfpack baseball team lost its last five at Doug Kingsmore Stadium while he and the football team fell 27-9 during Wilson's freshman season.
''The past is the past,'' Wilson said. ''We've got to focus on us right now and what we need to do.''
That's what Parker's trying to do as well. He was a freshman standout last season - he's believed to be the first Division I player to throw 20 touchdown passes and hit 20 home runs in the same academic year - and helped the Tigers to their first ACC title game appearance. The lure of taking an additional step to a championship was too much for Parker to pass up.
Parker said this week it would be his final football season with the Tigers; he plans to go to spring training and begin his pro baseball career.
No matter what happens the rest of the way, Parker has no regrets about coming back. ''I think it would be easy to sit back and regret,'' he said. ''But I think of all the things I learned and the options I've had, I don't regret it at all.''
Schmidt can't wait to see both his prospects with nothing but baseball on their minds. The Rockies, after all, had success with former Tennessee quarterback Todd Helton.
Parker is a power-hitting outfielder who's had 46 homers and 166 RBIs in three seasons. Wilson, an infielder-pitcher in college, spent part of his summer with the Tri City Dust Devils in the Class A Northwest League, hitting .230 with two homers in 32 games.
''In both their cases, they've never really committed themselves to playing baseball like other kids,'' Schmidt said. ''They pick up the bat in January and put it down in June. There's no summer baseball. There's no fall baseball. With proper development, you say, 'How good can they be?'''
Quarterbacks have always piqued Schmidt's interest for their leadership and athleticism. ''You've got 300-pound guys chasing you, so you better be a pretty good athlete,'' he said.
Schmidt also keeps his fingers crossed his players stay in one piece this week and the rest of the season. ''I know they can't play to a tie,'' Schmidt said. ''But yeah, we'll be following it with interest. We do every week.''
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AP Sports Writers Joedy McCreary in Raleigh, N.C., and Pat Graham in Denver, Colo., contributed to this report.
