Coming out of high school, Cord Sandberg had the option to play professional baseball or college football. Sandberg, the dual-threat quarterback on Manatee High's last state football title in 2011, pursued baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies organization over playing at Mississippi State when he graduated in 2013.
On Wednesday, Sandberg, 23, publicly announced his baseball dream was ending so he could chase his football dream.
"I felt it was time to go to college, get an education and at the same time play a little football and pursue that dream," Sandberg told the Bradenton Herald after six seasons with the Phillies, where he reached as high as Double-A.