Even when new Yankees hitting coach Alan Cockrell was leading the Tennessee Volunteers to a victory over Boomer Esiason and Maryland in the 1983 Citrus Bowl, Johnny Majors knew where Cockrell’s future was headed.
“He might have had a chance to play in the NFL, I think, because he was so athletic,” the former Tennessee football coach said by phone. “But he had so much talent and passion for baseball, that’s what he wanted to do.”
Before Cockrell left Knoxville, though, he became the starting quarterback for Tennessee as a freshman, overcame a serious knee injury to return as a sophomore and then led them to a 9-3 season as a junior before leaving early to become the ninth overall pick the following June by the San Francisco Giants in the MLB draft.