HOOVER, Ala. — Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks is not ruling out a career in baseball after being drafted by the Boston Red Sox last month but remains committed to football.
“My career is football,” he said Monday at SEC media days. “My main focus is football [in] college, then hopefully a career in the NFL. Then [baseball] is kind of like a backup plan, backup job.”
The Red Sox selected Franks, a pitcher, in the 31st round of the 2019 MLB draft. In announcing Franks’ signing last week, the Red Sox said he would “report to a club [in the team’s system] at a date to be determined.”
Franks, who has not played baseball since his junior season in high school, said Monday he threw 94 mph in a workout for the Red Sox.
“I haven’t thrown in a while, so I wasn’t perfect, but I was in the strike zone,” Franks said. “I threw 88, 89 [in high school]. I threw harder but I don’t know how. I really haven’t picked up a baseball in four or five years. I don’t know — it just came natural.”
Florida coach Dan Mullen called Franks’ selection by Boston a “great honor” for his redshirt junior quarterback. Mullen also coached former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow before the Heisman Trophy winner restarted his baseball career the New York Mets‘ farm system.
“Maybe when football is done, maybe he has a future in baseball,” Mullen said Monday. “I’d be really excited for him and really happy for him. I’m glad it was the Red Sox. I’m a big Red Sox fan.”