Decisions loom for 2-sport stars on National Signing Day

A new crop of high school football players will make perhaps the biggest decisions of their young lives Wednesday, with National Signing Day signaling the start of a new chapter in their nascent athletic careers.

For some, National Signing Day is little more than a formality, especially those who made verbal commitments (in earnest) to schools a while back, but for certain two-sport stars, Wednesday's deadline is a major crossroad in their athletics careers.

With the deadline looming, we looked at several high-school athletes deciding between football or a future on the baseball diamond:

A.J. Brown - Starkville, Miss.

Despite landing offers to play wide receiver at some of the most reputable football programs in the country - including two in his backyard, Mississippi State and Ole Miss, as well as reigning national champion Alabama - the 6-foot-2, 218-pound center fielder admits baseball is his "his first love." Only the second player ever to appear in the Under Armour All-American football and baseball games, Brown caught 83 passes for 1,371 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior, but even as the nation's No. 5-ranked receiver, he has yet to verbally commit to a school. Update: Brown has committed to Ole Miss.

Taylor Trammell - Powder Springs, Ga.

Though the 6-foot-2 running back has committed to playing football at Georgia Tech, Trammell seems destined to play baseball for the Yellow Jackets, too, if he decides to attend school instead of entering the MLB draft. In his junior season for Mount Paran Christian School, Trammell hit .393/.526/.672 with three homers and 19 stolen bases in 20 games, and currently projects to go as high as the fifth round in this year's draft.

Thomas Jones - Laurens, S.C.

A three-star safety and an All-American outfielder, Jones could become the rare dual-sport star at Vanderbilt - he committed to the Commodores in August - though his main focus will be on the diamond if he decides to juggle both. Not surprisingly, Jones has drawn interest from other SEC powerhouses too, but the youngster could forgo school entirely and declare for the 2016 MLB Draft, as certain scouts have pegged him as an early-round selection.

- With h/t to MLB.com