Red Sox taking chance on their own Tim Tebow

There is a Tim Tebow-like experiment underway in Boston.

The Red Sox signed Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks last week after selecting the former high school pitcher in the 31st round of the 2019 MLB draft.

Franks received a $40,000 signing bonus, but told reporters Monday his priority remains to play in the NFL. The NCAA will allow Franks to remain a college athlete so long as he doesn’t sign any endorsement deals nor play professionally at the same time. (Arizona Cardinals rookie Kyler Murray went down a similar path, signing with the Athletics before spurning them after being taken No. 1 overall in the NFL draft.)

The 21-year-old redshirt junior, who hasn’t pitched since high school but impressed during a pre-draft workout, is not considered one of the top quarterback prospects for the 2020 NFL draft. Franks threw 24 touchdowns and six interceptions along with 2,457 yards and had a 58.4 completion rate this past season.

“There’s another quarterback that I coached that I don’t know if anybody’s heard of him, he’s kind of a minor league ballplayer right now,” said Florida coach Dan Mullen, who was Tebow’s offensive coordinator from 2006-08. “So maybe when football is done, maybe [Franks] has a future in baseball. That’d be really exciting for him. I’d be really happy for him. I’m glad it was the Red Sox.”

Of course Tebow had a famous five-year NFL career before signing with the Mets in 2016. The 31-year-old outfielder has climbed to Triple-A, but is unlikely to ever reach the major leagues.

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