Clemson's Kyle Parker Does It All, Except Decide His Future

Kyle Parker's childhood sports heroes were Chipper Jones in baseball and Brett Favre in football. Even when pushed, there was no way, no sir, Parker could select a favorite between the talented pair.

Picking between the two sports at the collegiate level has been as difficult for Parker, a starter in right field on the Clemson baseball team and a possible starter at quarterback on the Tigers football team.


The production Parker has displayed at Doug Kingsmore Stadium and potential he has demonstrated at Memorial Stadium suggests Parker's double-duty will be successful -- and could, in fact, lead to an interesting scenario as early as next summer.

"I am having fun and God blessed me with the ability to do both," Parker, 19, told FanHouse before he helped the Tigers clinch a three-game home series against Maryland in Atlantic Coast Conference baseball over the weekend. "It hasn't been bad."

A refreshed Parker has continued his solid hitting since spring football practice ended last month, batting .306 with with 21 RBI during that 16-game span. Parker shares the team lead in home runs (10) and is second in RBI (47) with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

Even so, it was Parker's marathon performance on April 11 that showcased his powerful right arm and powerful right-handed bat.

At 1 p.m.., Parker started for the White team in Clemson's spring football game in Memorial Stadium before a spring-game record crowd of 24,000, completing 13-of-21 passes for 171 yards and adding passing and rushing touchdowns in the 30-13 win. At 3:10 p.m., Parker changed out of his football uniform, hustled across the street to Doug Kingsmore Stadium and slipped into his baseball threads.

Since Clemson's Friday opener vs. Miami was rained out, the Tigers played a doubleheader against the Hurricanes.

Although Parker did not make it in time to start the first game, he came off the bench in the third inning and laced a pinch-hit single that produced a run and a standing ovation. Parker finished 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in the 12-8 defeat. After a short break between games, Parker went 1-for-3 with another home run, two RBI and a walk in the 9-1 win. Not exactly a walk in the park but ...


"It was the perfect day, though I was exhausted," said Parker, who also double-dipped last spring but was permitted by then-head coach Tommy Bowden to miss many football obligations because Parker redshirted. "I went straight to my apartment after our baseball games and went to bed," waking up, of course, in time to knock in a pair of runs in Sunday afternoon's 9-6 victory and help Clemson capture the series.

Parker, on a football scholarship, has captured plenty of praise.

Head football coach Dabo Swinney, entering his first full season with the Tigers following Bowden's resignation six games into 2008, said "You're not dealing with an average athlete" in regard to Parker. Swinney actually arranged his 15 spring practices around the Tigers' baseball schedule, with Parker only missing a weekend baseball series at Boston College during the month-long overlap.

Clemson hitting coach Tom Riginos gushed "Holy mackerel, this was something special" following Parker's two-timing effort on April 11. And Parker produced in both sports despite taking 15 credit hours (he maintains a B average) and attending many 6 and 7 a.m. quarterback meetings following night baseball games.

"It was pretty hectic but the biggest thing I learned was time management and taking it a day at a time," said Parker, who added the juggling act pushed him physically and mentally.

While Parker, a 6-foot, 200-pounder, has yet to play in a college football game, his talent is obvious. During two major scrimmages and the spring game, Parker completed a combined 25-of-47 passes for 345 yards and five touchdowns and did not throw an interception. Even so, Clemson's quarterback picture also features Willy Korn, a redshirt sophomore who played in eight games as Cullen Harper's backup over the last two years, and junior Michael Wade.

Swinney has called his quarterback derby a healthy situation, saying he wants the trio to continue to compete over the next four months. Even Parker admits he needs to pick up this summer where he left off in spring practice. "We may let it (competition) settle itself on the field, and I am not opposed to that," said Swinney, whose Tigers open Sept. 5 at home against Middle Tennessee.

Parker's story features an intriguing twist.

Parker graduated a semester early from his Florida high school (Bartram, near Jacksonville) to enroll at Clemson in January 2008, skipping prom and leading the Tigers in home runs and slugging as a freshman. Parker also could be an early pick in major-league baseball's amateur draft when he becomes eligible in June 2010 -- with three years of football eligibility remaining.

Parker, the son of former NFL receiver Carl Parker, stresses the football staff has not pressed him about his baseball plans. And Swinney, known for his candor and player accountability, says he will start the quarterback that gives the Tigers the best chance to win regardless of challenges.

Jeff Sauve, a kicker in football and a pitcher in baseball, is the only player in Clemson history to be drafted (1995) and play professional baseball in the summer and return for football.

Oregon starting quarterback Dennis Dixon played pro baseball in the summer of 2007 and returned for his senior football season, throwing for 2,136 yards and 20 touchdowns. Selected by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round after he had not played baseball since high school (Oregon did not field a baseball team at the time), Dixon, an outfielder, hit only .176 in 74 at-bats with two Braves rookie-league teams. Dixon was selected in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, earning a Super Bowl ring last February though he was deactivated for most of the season as the team's third-string quarterback.

Other college quarterbacks who flipped-flopped between football and professional baseball included Florida's Doug Johnson, Michigan's Drew Henson, Tennessee's Todd Helton and Stanford's Joe Borchard.

Parker doesn't get too far ahead of himself. His main concern at the moment is the Tigers' non-conference baseball game at Furman on Wednesday. He also knows football awaits him at Clemson. There's no need for Parker to pick a favorite between the two sports, at least for now.

"I love to compete and I am just going out every day and trying to get better," Parker said. "I always played two sports growing up and I am out there enjoying every opportunity."