Former Baseball stars have made a habit out of leaving behind the MLB in favor of joining the College Football world. Brandon Weeden is the most famous case as he went from a top prospect in the Yankees system to becoming a quarterback for Oklahoma State, becoming one of the best players in the Country and a first round pick.
Recently, the trend has popped up again, especially as NIL and Revenue Sharing allow the players to earn close to what they could earn playing baseball in the minor leagues. Last offseason, former Marlins top prospect Monte Harrison joined the Arkansas Razorbacks with a chance to become a starter this season.
This season, there's another former highly touted MLB prospect joining the College Football ranks as former Texas Rangers first round pick Bubba Thompson has joined South Alabama as a walk on quarterback.
Bubba Thompson was an elite baseball player coming out of High School choosing the path to the MLB over football. The Texas Rangers selected Thompson 26th Overall in the 2017 MLB Draft signing him which kept him from signing with the Alabama Baseball team. While Thompson did play in the MLB for three different teams, he never lived up to his potential but, was considered one of the fastest players in the league.
This Winter, Bubba Thompson announced he would be retiring from Baseball attempting to walk onto the South Carolina Football team. It appears that Bubba Thompson has made the Jaguars roster as he's officially listed on the team's roster.
Former Texas Rangers first-round pick Bubba Thompson has joined Major Applewhite at South Alabama as a freshman quarterback@5GOATs_ https://t.co/vupErGDjMR
— Griffin McVeigh (@Griffin_McVeigh) July 24, 2025
Coming out of High School, Bubba Thompson was also a well sought after recruit at quarterback despite choosing baseball. In the 2017 Recruiting Cycle, 24/7 Sports ranked Thompson as the 27th best quarterback in the class, earning offers from Ole Miss, Tennessee, UCF, and others.
This offseason, the Jaguars had to play musical chairs with their quarterback room which makes it possible that Thompson could end up playing quarterback for the Jaguars. Starting quarterback Gio Lopez transferred to North Carolina to play for Bill Belichick, which brought in Georgia Tech transfer Zach Pyron to replace him.
Whether or not Bubba Thompson will stick at South Alabama long term or if he'll ever play remains to be seen but it's fascinating to see that he's made the roster.