N&O:
Russell Wilson plans to play both college football for NC State and professional baseball in the Colorado Rockies' minor-league system.
Wilson, who was taken in the fourth-round of the Major League Baseball draft on Tuesday, said he will return to NC State for his junior season in football but only after spending the summer in the Rockies' organization.
"They know my situation," Wilson said. "They know I love football. That's why they drafted me because they like me. We will continue to talk and figure this thing out."
Wilson has played both football and baseball at N.C. State. If he signs with the Rockies, as he said he intends to do, his college baseball career would be over. His college football career would also appear to be over after the 2010 season, despite the fact that he has two seasons of football eligibility left.
Wilson and the Rockies haven't worked out all the details yet, about where and when Wilson will report this summer. There have been no contract talks at this early stage.
"We'll figure that out down the road," Wilson said. "None of that has been discussed yet. I'll put all of that in the Lord's hands and see where it leads me."
Wilson called head football coach Tom O'Brien immediately after he was drafted to let the coach know he planned to return when practice begins on Aug. 3. They talked on multiple occasions during the day, as Wilson prepared to return to his hometown of Richmond, Va., to spend a few days with his family.
"There are a lot of things that have to be discussed, but one thing I know about Russell is he wants to play football and he is set on what he wants to do," O'Brien said. "We have to get all [the details] ironed out. We talked today. He has no agent, he's signed no contract, he's taken no money. Those are issues that have to be resolved.
"But I don't think there is any question, based on several conversations this afternoon, that he intends to play football."
Never overreact before the Russell Wilson presser. I always forget that.
I don't know the particulars of the NCAA rules involved with this sort of thing, but after reading up on Jake Locker's situation (Locker signed a six-year deal with the Angels last summer and continues to play football for the University of Washington), it looks like the two main things are:
1.) He can't hire an agent.
2.) He has to give up his football scholarship and pay his own way.
You can listen to Wilson talk about his decision here.
