#1 Cochran - PSR Showdown
Can an athlete be successful at two sports at the highest level of college?

Yes
By Kevin Gorman

The overexposure of the recruiting process has made prospects mindful not only of their college potential but the possibility of playing professionally.

We've become so wrapped up in the business of projecting one's future at the next level that they sacrifice a sport they love to succeed in one where they might make a living.

As a result, the three-sport high school athlete has become a rarity and the two-sport college athlete an anomaly. Which is why many scoff when Jeannette star Terrelle Pryor insists he will play football and basketball in college.

I applaud such decisions, for the simple fact that sport should be played for the love of the game - not a paycheck - and college athletics are still designed for amateurs, even if the NCAA has become a minor-league industry.

Trust me, Pryor is talented enough to excel at both sports in college, no matter where he goes. He is regarded a better football prospect primarily because, at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, he would be considered a dime-a-dozen prospect in basketball but a unique talent in football. Truth is, Pryor far more polished and prepared to make an impact in basketball.

Why should he give up playing hoops just because he projects as an NFL quarterback?

It was just the opposite for Charlie Ward, who excelled in football and basketball at Florida State to the point that winning the Heisman Trophy wasn't his greatest triumph. That distinction was reserved for receiving the James E. Sullivan Award, the most prestigious in all of amateur sport, as the nation's outstanding amateur athlete in 1993.

Ward is the obvious example that a two-sport athlete can be successful on multiple levels, leading the Seminoles to the national championship and becoming an NBA first-round pick.

He's not the only one to do it; just the best.

Julius Peppers played defensive end and power forward at North Carolina and was the second overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft, and is believed to be the only person to play in both the NCAA Final Four and the Super Bowl. Do you think Peppers wishes he'd only played football in college?

We tend to get too wrapped up in whether someone will fulfill their potential and make it to the pros than maximize their college experience.

Here's my advice to multi-sport athletes like Terrelle Pryor: Play both sports as long as you can, until you have to make a decision.

By then, your choice should be obvious.

Too Hard To Do
By John E. Sacco

Bo Jackson did not do it. Neither did Deion Sanders, two of the greatest two-sport athletes of all time.

What they didn't do was excel at two sports during their collegiate days at Auburn and Florida State, respectively.

Since their time in college, it seemingly has become even more difficult for an athlete to perform at the highest level while matriculating through college.

Can it be done? Yes. It takes an exceptional athlete, who can masterfully manage time and energy.

Overall, though, it is probably not a good idea. The demands on Division I athletes are enormous. Each sport has become a 365-day, 24-7 endeavor. We have not even addressed the academic load yet.

The other factor is the combination of sports.

Trying to play the two most visible sports - football and basketball - at the Division I level is most difficult.

The intensity needed to excel in football and the required study time - playbook and videotape - makes for long, tedious hours.

The kind of focus and time commitment necessary to achieve success at the Division I level in football is a full-time job in itself.

If the athlete happens to be a quarterback, the time needed doubles.

That's what makes it so improbable that a present-day athlete could be a standout in both football and basketball on the collegiate level.

The time away from the classroom while playing just one sport - even one that doesn't receive a great deal of media attention - is significant. When attempting to play both football and basketball at that level, the time away from the classroom becomes a huge problem and an obstacle.

The likelihood of being able to pull of the football-basketball exacta at the Division I level just isn't good.

Of course, there are exceptions. For the most part, though, the thought of playing two sports and excelling at two sports at the Division I level just is not realistic.

John E. Sacco is the athletic director at Monessen High School. He previously worked as a journalist for 20 years, many as a sports writer.