Should Clemson's Kyle Parker play football or baseball?

Clemson Tiger two sport star Kyle Parker has a big decision ahead of him. Next month is the Major League Baseball draft. Parker is one of the best baseball players in the ACC, and he stands to possibly make millions if he enters the draft. He's also the starting quarterback of the Clemson Tiger's football team. Last year he helped lead the Tigers to the ACC Championship game and a Bowl win over Kentucky. Parker is sure to excel and is excelling at both sports. Which should he choose?

Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson for a short time successfully managed to play both sports professionally. Sanders eventually settled on football and Jackson because of injury ended up focusing on baseball. As for Parker here is what we know. He's 6-0 and around 210 lbs. Last season he threw for over 2500 yards and completed 55% of passes. He also made a number of freshman All-American teams. Drew Brees   proved you don't have to be 6-4 230 to be a great NFL quarterback. Parker had a great season at quarterback, but he's also having an outstanding baseball season.

He's considered one of the top 30 MLB prospects coming out of college. Check out some of Parker's most recent stats. He's batting .377 with 16 HRs and 45 RPI in 42 games played as a Clemson outfielder. The Tigers are 28-17 and fighting for a spot in College Baseball   's postseason. We know the average life expectancy of a football player is around three-and-a-half years and for a baseball it's closer to six years. NFLdraft.com already has Parker projected as a top 10 QB in 2013. His arm strength is considered pro caliber. Only Parker knows what he is going to do. I personally believe he will come back and play football at least one more season. Is it what I would do?

If it were me, I might opt to get the guaranteed money in baseball. You just never know if an injury may occur and end both careers. If baseball doesn't work out, it's not like you can't come back. Chris Weinke did it at Florida State and quarterbacked the Noles to the National Title and it led to a decent if unspectacular NFL career. As I said I expect Parker to return as quarterback, and if he does Clemson has a very real shot at the ACC Atlantic division title. You can't argue with that result either.

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