One of the biggest questions surrounding Mississippi State's 2013 football recruiting class has been whether or not star quarterback commit Cord Sandberg will make it to campus next fall. Sandberg, in addition to being a standout dual-threat QB for Manatee HS in Florida, is also an outstanding high school baseball player. So much so that some have projected him in the top three rounds for the 2013 MLB Draft in June. Even though Sandberg still has not made his decision to come to Starkville next fall or to pursue a career in the major leagues of baseball, it does now appear that we know when that decision will be made.
In his interview with Bulldawgs 247 ($) manager Paul Jones following his official visit to Mississippi State this weekend, Cord told Paul that he expects to know whether or not he will attend college "within two to three days after the draft".
2013 MSU commit Cord Sandberg tells Bulldawgs247 he would likely need just 2-3 days after the MLB Draft to know which direction he would go
— Paul Jones (@PJ247Sports) January 21, 2013
Even though this doesn't give State fans any definitive answer as to Sandberg's plans, it does give an approximate date as to when we will learn of his future. This was probably expected, as Cord will likely see where he is taken and the money for that slot before he makes his decision. Another interesting aspect of Cord's decision will be the draft's new signing bonus rules. Under the new rules for the draft, a MLB team has a pool of money to spend collectively on its draftees. And if a draftee doesn't sign? The team loses the money allotted for that slot; they can not spend it on one of their other draft picks. That will make a lot of franchises look harder at who they draft, and with Sandberg clearly having other options besides the pro baseball at this time, that may hold teams off from taking him in the higher rounds.
Recent rumblings seem to indicate that there is more and more of a chance that Sandberg makes it to Starkville this fall to play football, but a lot can change -- including Sandberg's prospects for the 2013 MLB Draft -- from now until June's draft.
Another interesting note in Sandberg's talk with Paul was that it looks like he most likely will not try to play two sports at MSU. Although Cord does not rule it out completely, he reiterates that it would be quite tough to do so. I know myself among many others had wondered about that, as you see from time to time student athletes play more than one sport at the collegiate level. Although choosing football and college won't necessarily end Sandberg's baseball chances -- we've seen college football players get drafted before by baseball teams after not swinging a bat for years -- it does seem like his looming decision may see him decide between football and baseball for his foreseeable athletic future.
Related: Sandberg ranked #92 in Perfect Game's latest Top 300 draft prospects