Baseball interferes with recruiting at Clemson

By Stephen Jerdan  |   Thursday, June 08, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Clemson Tigers
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Star athletes often participate in multiple sports at the high school or college levels, and with the Major League Baseball Draft taking place this week, many of college football's recruits are keeping off the gridiron and staying on the diamond. Recruits who sat down on National Signing Day and designated their football talents to a specific school are now sitting down with MLB baseball scouts negotiating million-dollar deals. Having a standout recruit drafted to play professional baseball in place of collegiate football presents a problem that many of college football's coaches must face every year - and nobody knows this better than Clemson Tigers head coach Tommy Bowden.

In 2002, Bowden recruited Jeff Francoeur, a Lilburn, GA native, to play football at Clemson. Francoeur, who had committed to the Tigers early, was rated a 4-star player and named the 11th best safety in the country by Rivals.com. While leading Parkview High to two consecutive undefeated seasons on the gridiron, Francoeur also was a standout baseball player - hitting .443 with 55 home runs and 164 RBI's during his high school career. Francoeur, however, was drafted in June of 2002 in the first round by the Atlanta Braves, his favorite team from childhood. Jeff ultimately decided that his career would probably last longer in baseball, and the first-round draft money, typically in the millions, could not be passed up.

While this wasn't his first time seeing a recruit opting to play baseball in lieu of football, Bowden was forced to come to terms with losing one of the best players he had ever recruited to professional baseball, and he may have to do it again.

Jamie Cumbie, a Rivals.com Top 100 player from Morris, IL, has agreed to play football for Bowden's Tigers, and could be a big addition to the Tigers, who will be in need of defensive ends following the 2006 season. At 6'7" and 255 lbs, Cumbie has ideal size for a strongside defensive end, and is rated a 4-star player by most recruiting publications. Cumbie, however, is also a standout pitcher at Morris High, and he is expected to be taken in the MLB draft, at some point.

While the Andrews, SC native is excited about returning to his home state to play football, Cumbie still keeps baseball open as an alternative, depending on where he winds up in the draft.

"Actually, you know baseball still could be an option," Cumbie said to a local Morris newspaper. "I definitely feel comfortable about my decision to play football at Clemson, but you never know. We'll have to see what happens with baseball."

The risk that multi-sport kids present is a dangerous one for collegiate coaches, but the recruiting trail never ceases. While Tommy Bowden is only one of many coaches to experience a lost recruit to professional baseball, he is still faced with the duty of recruiting extremely talented athletes year in and year out. Although Cumbie isn't expected to abandon his commitment to Clemson to play professional baseball, the threat is still there for him to become Bowden's next Francoeur.

Get more Clemson Tigers football insight at Realfootball365.com
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