Boston Red Sox Draft…Jeff Driskel?
By Kyle Kensing
Jan 2, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; The Boston Red Sox draft Jeff Driskel, Florida Gators quarterback. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Got drafted by the Red Sox today. Did not see that coming.
— Jeff Driskel (@jeffdriskel) June 8, 2013
You know your sport’s draft is too long when teams are expending picks on athletes from other sports. That’s what the Boston Red Sox did on Saturday, selecting Florida Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel. Driskel’s a dual-threat player on the gridiron; maybe he could be a five-tool player on the diamond?
The Red Sox selection is not a total reach. Driskel was, in fact, an outstanding outfielder at Oviedo (Fla.) Hagerty. PerfectGame.org ranked him No. 124 nationally in 2011, before the highly touted football recruit took to Gainesville.
Driskel’s selection is reminiscent of the San Diego Padres drafting Toledo Rockets quarterback Terrance Owens a year ago. In an interview I conducted with Owens in September, he said, “I was really confused. It was really random…[when] I got a call from the [San Diego Padres] manager and he said they were interested in me. Then I got another call the day of the draft.”
Like Driskel, Owens was a high school baseball player.
The Florida quarterback seems similarly shocked, based on his above tweet. Driskel is focused on an improved junior year for the Gators. He threw for 1646 yards, 12 touchdowns and was intercepted five times in Florida’s run to the Sugar Bowl. Driskel rushed for another 408 yards and four scores.
If football doesn’t pan out for him, at least Driskel has options.