Meet the 2 blue-chip recruits making their own Kyler Murray decisions

Jerrion Ealy and Maurice Hampton could be football players or outfielders. Do they pick baseball now or wait it out?

On National Signing Day, two elite athletes will have significant decisions to make.

Five-star running back Jerrion Ealy of Jackson (Mississippi) Flowood Prep will announce his choice between Clemson, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama, and other Southeastern powers. Ealy had been committed to Ole Miss for 13 months but decommitted in early January. He stole the show at the Under Armour All-America Game, running for 119 yards on 16 carries against the best competition in the nation.

Three hours north, four-star Memphis cornerback Maurice Hampton will decide whether to stick with an LSU commitment or perhaps flip to a school like Ole Miss, Auburn, or UCLA. The USA Today Defensive Player of the Year from Tennessee is one of the prized prospects in LSU’s class at 6’ and 205 pounds.

There might not be much drama with their choices on Feb. 6.

Hampton said earlier in January he’s “100 percent committed” to LSU. Ealy is widely expected to pick the national champion Clemson Tigers.

But their bigger decisions will likely come around June’s MLB Draft.

As baseball holds its draft, their future college teams will be holding their collective breath, because both are elite baseball prospects. MLB.com ranks Ealy 18th and Hampton 27th on its draft board. They’re two of the four prospects to be Under Armour All-Americans in both football in baseball. The others are Kyler Murray and former Ole Miss receiver A.J. Brown.

Murray’s ongoing baseball-or-football decision might be the most closely watched ever. He signed with Texas A&M (and then transferred to Oklahoma) to play both sports, before appearing to decide on baseball when the A’s drafted him in 2018. Now he might play in the NFL, which gives him leverage against Oakland and MLB.

Ealy and Hampton have to decide if they want to play baseball now for millions or leave their options open through at least three unpaid years in college. They wouldn’t be eligible to reenter MLB’s draft until 2022. They already can’t go into the NFL’s until the same year.

Ealy’s scouting report from the league’s website is glowing:

Unlike many players whose attention is divided between multiple sports, Ealy isn’t extremely raw on the diamond. He needs to smooth out his right-handed swing, but also shows promising feel for putting the bat on the ball. He has a quick bat and packs plenty of strength in his compact frame, giving him at least 20-homer upside if he puts it all together at the plate.

Ealy can flash top-of-the-scale run times and already shows a knack for stealing bases. His quickness and good jumps allow him to chase down balls in both gaps from center field, and his strong arm will play anywhere in the outfield. His package of tools is similar to that of Murray, who signed with the A’s for $4,660,000 as the No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 Draft and won the Heisman Trophy as an Oklahoma quarterback this fall.

It’s also worth noting that Ealy is much more muscled than Murray was at the same age.

“I’m projected to go as a top-18 or top-20 pick, so we’ll see how it goes,” Ealy said. At 5’10 and 200 pounds, he’s built like a young Rickey Henderson. The site gives him a speed grade of 75 on a 20-80 scale, which is tremendous.

Hampton’s also a big-time prospect. MLB.com calls him “the most athletic prospect to come out of Tennessee in years.”

It says:

Like most athletes who star in multiple sports, Hampton needs refinement on the diamond, but his huge upside could make the patience that will be required in his development worth it. His right-handed swing could get smoother but still generates impressive bat speed and exit velocities, giving him the potential for 25 or more homers on an annual basis if he makes enough contact. He struggled against quality pitching early on the showcase circuit last summer but continually improved and gave a glimpse of what he might be if he focused on baseball.

Hampton has dynamic tools beyond his raw power. He’s also a well above-average runner who can make an impact as a basestealer and a defender. He definitely has the quickness for center field and also flashes plus arm strength that will enable him to play anywhere in the outfield.

“Every mock draft has me projected in the top 40 picks,” Hampton said, putting him in the first round or supplemental first round.

The signing bonus slot between picks 20 and 40 averages more than $2 million.

Both players will have to weigh their financial futures in either sport.

Hampton, who plays center field, grew up idolizing Andrew McCutchen and Mookie Betts, though McCutchen is “getting a little old” now, he said. But still, Hampton noted McCutchen just “got paid,” signing a three-year, $50 million deal with the Phillies. Three seasons have passed since McCutchen had his last elite season with the Pirates. He pointed to McCutchen as an example of baseball players’ ability to have long, lucrative careers.

He wants to have a long career and thinks LSU can help him grow in both sports.

“LSU has always been good at both sports. Preseason No. 1 in baseball, a New Year’s Six bowl in football,” Hampton said. “At LSU, I can play at a high level and compete for a national championship in both sports.”

Ealy also intends to play both sports at whichever program he picks.

One thing each likes about baseball: the sport’s modernizing ability to evaluate defense, which both view as a strength.

One of the biggest recent changes in baseball has been the ability to quantify defense like never before. Instead of just using fielding percentage (how frequently the fielder makes an error), teams are going deeper, measuring how many plays a player actually makes, as opposed to how many he could make on balls hit near him.

With the help of technology, including GPS and MLB’s Statcast, all sorts of new measurements are now public. Those are in addition to whatever internal metrics teams keep to evaluate defenders.

Unsurprisingly, clubs are more willing to play a speedy outfielder with a lighter bat if the numbers suggest that player’s defense is saving a lot of runs.

This is a big deal for Ealy and Hampton. It’s not that they can’t hit, but their greatest value is in turning balls hit into the outfield into outs.

“My plus tool is my speed, my best tool,” Ealy, who runs the 100-metres in a listed 11.06 seconds, said. “It’s something you can’t coach, can’t get natural speed. I’ll utilize it to the best of my abilities.” He’s gotten feedback from scouts who value how that can help on defense.

Hampton said baseball’s improved ability to measure and track player defense using technology appeals to him.

“I would say that baseball went away from valuing defense for a while,” he said. “It used to be a game of athletes, but it is starting to get back to it. They’re paying players like myself more again to use our athletic ability in the outfield.”

But neither player has a favorite sport, making their decisions more difficult.

“When it’s football season I enjoy football, and when it is baseball season I enjoy baseball,” Hampton said.

“Each one has its pros and cons,” Hampton said. “I’ve weighed both options with my parents. If I go the baseball route, I’ll have to stop playing football. But if I went to play baseball, I’d develop quicker, so I have a decision to make in the next couple months.”

The two players were roommates the week of the Under Armour game.

“Yeah, we talk about it,” Ealy said.

Both believe playing two sports helps them with each.

“Playing football helps me with baseball,” Hampton said. I have those DB skills to track down the ball in the outfield. And I have the outfield skills to track down the football.”

Ealy sees a similar dynamic on offense.

“I feel like tracking the ball in the outfield helps me track the ball as a receiver,” Ealy said. “And my football footwork helps me be balanced through the baseball to deliver a strike [with the bat].”

This year, as Murray’s taken the spotlight for his two-sport decision, Ealy and Hampton have followed his story from afar.

“Signability” is always a concern for baseball teams, because prospects who play another sport have increased leverage.

“I don’t have a set number, but it would have to be life-changing money for me to not go to college,” Hampton said.

Ealy said he’d figure out his number later, toward the end of his baseball season.

“I don’t necessarily have a signing bonus number in my head to skip college. It’s too early. But later in the season, I’ll narrow that down,” he said.

Both have watched Murray’s story unfold, as he signed with the A’s, won the Heisman, and then declared for the NFL Draft, appearing to favor football.

Ealy advised Murray to play both sports for as long as possible.

“Make the best decision you can,” he said. “Money is not everything, but it’s a good part of the bargain. “Regardless of what he does, he’s going to get paid. Go out, have fun, try to play both as long as you can, and do what you want to do.”