4-star UNC WR signee and MLB first-round pick Jordyn Adams chooses baseball

Nick Bromberg
·College football and motorsports writer
Jordyn Adams will be doing this professionally instead of playing football. (Getty Images)
Jordyn Adams will be doing this professionally instead of playing football. (Getty Images)

A jewel of North Carolina’s football recruiting class won’t be a part of the Tar Heel football program.

Jordyn Adams said Tuesday evening that he was choosing baseball over football. Adams was selected 17th overall Monday in the Major League Baseball draft.

Can’t blame Jordyn Adams for choosing baseball over football

Yeah, it’s got to be hard choosing between two of your favorite sports. But when it comes to financial security, playing baseball is the right decision.

As the No. 17 pick, Adams will likely sign a contract north of $3 million overall. If he decided to play football, he wouldn’t be eligible for the NFL draft until 2021 and obviously wouldn’t be able to collect any money off of his name to stay eligible to play college football.

“Last night I received a blessing that I’ve been working towards for a long time,” Adams said on Twitter. “God has blessed me with a Win Win situation and after talking to my family we have decided that it’s best for me to [pursue] my professional baseball career.

“I want to Thank Coach Fedora, Coach Fox and all of Tar Heel Nation for their support during this process. I look forward to seeing what my future holds and what god has in store for me.”

Was one of six 4-star signees in UNC’s class

Adams was the No. 13 wide receiver in the class of 2018 according to Rivals and the No. 4 player in the state of North Carolina.

His departure from the class is a huge blow to a North Carolina team looking to bounce back after an awful 2017. The addition of graduate transfer quarterback Brandon Harris didn’t go very well as North Carolina stumbled to a 1-7 record in the ACC and a 3-9 record overall.

North Carolina finished the recruiting period with the No. 23 class in the country, according to Rivals. Without Adams, the class is probably outside the top 25.

His athleticism transfers to the basketball court too. Take a look at this dunk. Don’t you think North Carolina coach Larry Fedora looked at this and salivated at the thought of his quarterbacks throwing Adams a jump ball in the end zone?

Now it’s Angels executives thinking about Adams’ leap robbing potential home runs.

One of two first-round football stars

Adams’ decision is different than the one made by Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, who was selected at No. 9 by the Oakland Athletics. Murray, the presumed starter for the Sooners in 2018, said after he was drafted that he was planning on playing football this season.

Of course, Adams’ and Murray’s circumstances are a bit different. Adams hadn’t enrolled at North Carolina and Murray is already at Oklahoma. Plus, Murray started his career at Texas A&M and has spent a year sitting out as a transfer and another as Baker Mayfield’s backup. He’s got a little more invested in his college football career than Adams does.

And Adams can always come back and play football if baseball doesn’t work out anyway. Adams wouldn’t be the first player to come back and play college football after playing baseball.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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