By the end of March, 156 college football programs at various levels will have completed their pro day events, shuffling 32 individual NFL draft boards in the process. Hundreds of players look to garner recognition while saying all the right things during these events, but there's one athlete who is not listed on any draft site or scouting report that can afford to voice some good-natured bravado.
Once considered a possible heir to Robert Griffin III's throne at Baylor, Braves pitching prospect Tyrell Jenkins is not shy about his alternate-universe place in what would have been his draft class's senior season. When asked if he could have been the third quarterback taken after past Heisman winners Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, Jenkins upped the ante.
"I probably would have been the first (quarterback drafted)," the 22-year-old says with a laugh. "I never really thought about it until right now."
There's one potential problem with this scenario: Bryce Petty. The 6-foot-3 quarterback ran Baylor's high-octane offense like a machine for two years and now looks to be one of the better signal-calling prospects in the 2015 draft. At various times during the draft buildup, he's been ranked as high as the third-best quarterback available. However, there was a time when Petty was not a shoo-in candidate to play behind center for coach Art Briles. He was supposed to have had some talented competition.
After Petty decommitted from Tennessee, grayshirted and deferred his commitment to Baylor's 2010 recruiting class, the Bears subsequently signed Jenkins, a two-sport star with a big-time arm, in the same class. Baylor's QB depth chart was filled to the brim. Jenkins was thrust into that mix, at least until professional baseball came calling -- or, as Briles phrased it at the time, "before Steinbrenner says he wants to buy him four houses."
Still, with the noted advantage of we'll-never-really-know hindsight, Jenkins isn't backing down from his celebrated football background. To be the top quarterback in the 2015 draft, he would have first had to be the top quarterback in Waco. Not a problem, allegedly.
"(Petty) probably never would have (played) there if I was there", Jenkins joked, a nod to his ongoing involvement and support of the university's athletics program. He still attends every Baylor football game he can. "Bryce is a good guy, he's a really good guy. He has a really good chance of going as the third quarterback taken to whoever it may be. So I'm excited for him for that because he worked his tail off. He deserves it."
While he is arguably the most high-profile former college football recruit in the Braves spring training clubhouse, Jenkins is not the only one.
Third-base prospect Rio Ruiz, another top minor-leaguer acquired during the franchise's busy offseason, once planned on competing for Lane Kiffin's quarterback job at Southern Cal, where he was also recruited to play baseball. He chose the MLB Draft route as well. Jenkins and Ruiz have thrown a football together this spring -- "Any type of throwing competition, (Ruiz) doesn't want a part of it," Jenkins said. -- and even incorporate the sport into their throwing routines.
As Ruiz told MLB.com's Mark Bowman earlier during spring training, "During the season, I usually put it into my throwing routine too. So I'll bring a football out during BP and throw it around before I throw a baseball. I joke around and say I should have played football instead of baseball every time I throw it around. But I know I made the right decision."
Then there's Jace Peterson.
The McNeese State product not only molded himself into a first-round pick in college, but he did so while playing cornerback on the school's football team. In fact, it was the football hook that landed the Cowboys' baseball team its second first-round draft pick in school history.
"I knew that in high school, for me, I wanted to go (to college) wherever I could play both sports. McNeese said I could come play both right away, so it worked out," said Peterson, who said his college options were somewhat limited by his two-sport aspirations. "There were some other schools that offered me for both sports, but a lot of schools wanted me to not play football until my second year. And I kinda wanted to play right away."
This is not exactly new territory for the Braves franchise -- nor are Jenkins, Ruiz and Peterson even the best football players in franchise history.
In Deion Sanders and Brian Jordan, Atlanta employed two of the seven NFL players to log MLB time since 1970. Whether there was an NFL player amongst this current trio will remain unknown. (Although Jenkins thinks there would have been at least one.)
With football firmly in the rearview, each of the three former college football players or recruits projects to factor into Atlanta's future plans at the major-league level. Joining the organization separately in the team's three biggest trades of the offseason -- partial returns for Jason Heyward (Jenkins), Justin Upton (Peterson) and Evan Gattis (Ruiz) -- they are part of a farm system renovation project for president of baseball operations John Hart. Peterson is currently the most impressive player vying for the second-base spot in camp, while Jenkins and Ruiz should be competing for MLB time in the near future.
In the meantime, Atlanta should be in good hands should a flag football game break out during a rain delay this spring.
