Two-sport athletes at Va. Tech

North Carolina State’s Russell Wilson is a talented quarterback and with the potential to be a future professional baseball player. It is rare for such an accomplished two-sport athlete in major college sports.

But with the Wolfpack (4-6, 1-5 ACC) playing at No. 16 Virginia Tech (7-3, 4-2) on Saturday, it has stirred some interesting conversation about the Hokies football team’s two-sports athletes. Coach Frank Beamer said there are two players who intend on playing multiple sports: running back David Wilson and offensive lineman Andrew Miller.

“I think if you’ve got special skills, then you ought to be able to do them,” Beamer said.

Wilson, a freshman, was one of the most talked-about newcomers to the Hokies football team, with coaches raving about his blistering speed and freakish athleticism. That athleticism allowed him to win the triple jump in the Nike Indoor Nationals as a junior and senior.

In an interview in September, Wilson said he planned to compete in the triple jump at Virginia Tech. He said the football coaches agreed to that when he was recruited. With his mark of 51-5 ¾ in the triple jump, Wilson could be competitive nationally in the event.

“David’s quite a track guy,” Beamer said, “and we want him to do that.”

On the gridiron, however, Wilson has struggled this season, playing only a bit role as Ryan Williams has emerged as a star. Wilson has 227 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 39 carries.

Miller is a freshman on the scout team who currently has a shoulder injury. He is a scholarship football player but plans on wrestling at Virginia Tech. At Bassett High School, Miller was a two-time Virginia state wrestling champion in the heavyweight division.

“Wrestling was important to him, and we talked about that when we were recruiting him,” Beamer said. “I think he wrestled last weekend, as a matter of fact.”

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