Bubba Starling

[Thig Lyfe]

Pleeeeeeease come to KU.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/05/03...ing-stars.html

Gardner Edgerton’s Starling stars in more than one sport
By RYAN YOUNG
The Kansas City Star

He quarterbacked his team to the state championship game for the first time in school history. Helped lift his basketball team to the state semis. And, equipped with a fastball that reaches the mid-90s, he’s into his third act now.

Gardner Edgerton junior Bubba Starling has scholarship offers to play college football at some of the premier programs in the country. Programs that want him enough they’ll let him play college baseball, too. That is, if he doesn’t turn pro after the Major League Baseball draft next year.

“It’s easy to brag about Bubba,” Gardner Edgerton football coach Marvin Diener says.

So Diener doesn’t hesitate to do a bit of that. Diener, who’s won six state titles as a coach, says he’s not sure he’ll ever have another player like Starling. Heck, he takes it a step further.

“I don’t know if Kansas will ever see a three-sport athlete like him,” Diener says.

Starling will have a big decision to make sometime in the near future. But not on this day in April. He started the morning with a 10-hour drive back from South Bend, Ind., where he had been on a recruiting trip to Notre Dame — just one of the college heavyweights eying his services.

But he has other things to worry about. He’s on the mound for Gardner Edgerton, and the Trailblazers infield has just committed back-to-back errors with two outs in the top of the fifth. Starling doesn’t show his frustration. He just reaches back for more.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets up to 95-96,” Trailblazers play-by-play announcer Ryan Ragland says as the count reaches 1-1 on the next Ottawa batter.

Starling, glove in front of his chin, turns and raises his knee slowly as his windup begins … then he unleashes one — 94 mph past a swinging bat. Strike two.

“I’m predicting we’ll see 96-97 pretty soon,” Ragland says.

The next one sails high and hard over the catcher’s head, but it’s played off the backstop and thrown to Starling, who applies the tag at home for the final out.

He cruises through the sixth more conventionally with his ninth strikeout and an inning-ending double play. And his night is done as he turns a 4-1 lead over to the bullpen.

Another start, another gem for one of the area’s top high school pitching prospects.

“I’ve never seen the impact that one player can have on a team as much as (with) him,” Gardner Edgerton baseball coach Jerald VanRheen says after the April 20 game.

•••

Despite his sturdy 6-foot-5, 190-pound frame, Starling never envisioned himself as a college quarterback. Not until after his junior season last fall, when he led Gardner Edgerton to the Kansas 5A state championship game and the best finish in program history.

Then the big-time college football offers started coming in — 11 so far, he says.

He remembers standing in his driveway as he followed up on a request to call Notre Dame assistant coach Ed Warinner, formerly of KU. After a series of questions, Warinner said they had evaluated Starling’s film and wanted to offer him a scholarship.

“I was like ‘Notre Dame!’ I couldn’t talk,” Starling says.

It was the same way with Alabama, which also wants Starling, a dual-threat quarterback who passed for 1,433 yards and 18 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,381 yards on 11.1 per carry and 19 touchdowns in the fall.

“It’s just crazy. I never thought this would happen,” Starling says after a baseball practice last week, sitting inside the dugout shaking his head with a grin.

The programs at the top of his list — Notre Dame, Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska — are all prepared to let him play baseball as well, he says.

Of course, that all depends on what he decides to do after the Major League Baseball draft next year.

“Baseball America a couple of weeks ago had … the top 50 (prospects) in the 2011 class, and he was 47th,” VanRheen says. “A scout (from the San Diego Padres) told me based upon what he’s seen, if Starling was a middle-of-the-second-round draft pick, he said it is scary to know how good those kids are that are one through 46.”

And in between capturing the attention of college football heavyweights and building his stock as a pro baseball prospect, all Starling managed to do on the basketball court this winter was lead the Trailblazers to the 5A state semifinals and gain second-team All-Metro honors.

“He’ll set most of the all-time marks in basketball next season for us,” Gardner Edgerton coach Jeff Langrehr says. “He’s going to leave quite a legacy here, and the funny thing about that is most people perceive that as his third sport.”

If not for football and baseball, Langrehr is certain Starling could be a Division I basketball player if he so desired.

•••

OK, so about the name …

“I was a 10-pound baby,” Starling says. “As a little guy, a couple of months old, I was big. I had Fred Flintstone legs, and my Aunt ‘Sis’ was like, ‘You look like a Bubba.’ I’ve just kind of been called that ever since.

“I’ll get called Derek (his given name) every once in a while when I’m in trouble, but that’s not too much.”

He doesn’t leave much time for trouble.

“I had several (baseball) scouts say, maybe give up football because (you’d be) less likely to get hurt,” Starling says. “I just talked it over with my family, and that’s not what I want. I want to play all three sports. … Whatever season it is, that’s what I love.”

Except, soon Starling will have a decision to make.

After returning home from the Notre Dame visit, he says he is really high on the Fighting Irish. He had a great talk with new head football coach Brian Kelly.

“We want to open up the run game here at Notre Dame, and you could be the person,” Starling recalls Kelly telling him.

But a week later Starling says his decision is still very open.

It’s a lot to process for a 17-year-old. The recruiting pitches. The campus visits. Representatives from major-college programs coming to watch him work out after school, like a handful of assistant coaches from big-name football programs did last week.

Not to mention being the main attraction every time he takes the baseball field.

“It’s been pretty crazy,” his father, Jim Starling says. “He’s taking it really well. For a kid that’s 17 years old, he takes it in stride pretty well.”

Starling acknowledges the whole process has been stressful at times, but he has his own ways of dealing with that.

A few times a week, when he gets home from practice, he will head down to the pond behind the family’s home to go fishing. Sometimes it’s just him and the family’s two black Labradors. It’s his escape.

“I’m just out there, and my mind’s off everything,” he says. “I’m not thinking about college and all that stuff.”

Those decisions can wait.

•••

Last Tuesday afternoon. Spring Hill at Gardner Edgerton. Starling pops the catcher’s mitt with the first pitch of the game.

Long before he caught the eye of the college football powers, Starling was the 5-year-old bat boy for VanRheen’s Gardner Edgerton baseball team. They’d let him take a few swings after practice.

“He was just getting so (mad) because he couldn’t hit them in the outfield,” VanRheen says. “And now he’s hitting them over the road.”

Starling is batting .558 with five home runs in 43 at-bats this season — in addition to a 2.13 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 23 innings on the mound.

After allowing a leadoff infield single and a walk to Spring Hill, Starling strikes out the next three batters in the top of the first inning.

He strikes out three more in the second. Two in the third. Three more in the fourth. And a pair in the fifth.

He’s working consistently in the low 90s with his fastball to go along with devastating breaking balls that have the Spring Hill hitters off-balance.

Starling finishes with a varsity career-high 18 strikeouts in a shutout.

“I haven’t seen anybody throw like that for a long time,” Spring Hill coach David Londene will say afterward. “Every now and then, you just tip your hat to the other guy, and today was one of those days. …

“He’s just the complete package. He’s one that doesn’t come along very often.”

Another game, another gem. Another chapter in the growing legacy of Bubba Starling.

[Chief Chief]

A Starling just cain't be a Jayhawk.

No, seriously...by the title, I thought this thread was about a southern-bred cartoon bird.

[Titty Meat]

Bubba is N.

Beat out Notre Dame and Alabama that's impressive.

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by billay

Bubba is N.

Beat out Notre Dame and Alabama that's impressive.

Not really, Better chance to start at different sports at Nebraska then he would at the other schools.. If anything if he would of choose one of those schools it would have beat out Nebraska or Kansas from what I have read on the kid..

[Gonzo]

http://omaha.com/article/20100619/BI...m-four-star-qb

Bubba Starling may never touch the pigskin in Husker red.

But a simple pledge reportedly given Saturday — to roam the field at Memorial Stadium if he does ever decide to play college football — is enough to create excitement for Nebraska fans.
Now comes the wait.

Starling, a four-star quarterback prospect out of Gardner, Kan., gave NU a verbal commitment Saturday, according to rivals.com. He chose the Huskers over offers from defending national champion Alabama, Notre Dame, Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville and Texas Tech.

A projected first-round pick in next summer’s Major League Baseball draft, however, Starling could have a multi-million dollar deal thrown his way at this time next year. And a major decision to make.

“He’s probably going to be tempted with several dollars,” Gardner Edgerton baseball coach Jerald Van Rheen said. “I don’t know how that is going to shake out.”

Nebraska fans have been through a situation like this before. Carl Crawford gave NU a commitment to play quarterback, but was chosen high in the MLB draft and elected to play baseball. He’s since become one of the top outfielders in the game for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Starling touched 95 mph on the radar gun numerous times this spring, even getting to 96 once VanRheen said. The coach wouldn’t be surprised to see 97 or 98 next season.

Starling followed up a sophomore season in which he hit .581 by hitting .508 as a junior.

“And that was a down year,” the coach joked.

Some scouts think he could be a dominating force on the mound. VanRheen says he would make a pretty good everyday player in centerfield, too.

What about football?

Starling took the Trailblazers to the state championship game last fall. He threw for over 1,400 yards, ran for over 1,300 more (the second year in a row he went over 1,000 in both) and scored 37 touchdowns.

Rivals.com ranks him as the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the country, and the No. 99 prospect overall.

He’s also got highlight-reel dunking ability on the basketball court, all part of the growing legend behind Bubba.

“He’s not just really good at all three,” VanRheen said. “He’s hands down the best player on the baseball field when he plays a game. He’s hands down the best on football field. He’s as good as they come in basketball.”

Gardner Edgerton football coach Marvin Diener takes it one step further.

“I don’t know if Kansas will ever see a three-sport athlete like him,” Diener told the Kansas City Star earlier last month.







There you have it...

[DeezNutz]

Pro-ball, here I come.

[Bambi]

eh, **** it

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by ChiefMojo

Don't be surprised if he does pick Kansas if he goes to college. His best friends are all KU fans and he attends KU games regularly. One school every DOES know he won't be attending is Mizzou.

With the elite QB talent at MU, it's difficult to blame him for not wanting to compete.

[Fritz88]

How can one be such a physical freak that they excel at all kinds of sports?

[BWillie]

Who cares, doesn't play basketball / mu fan about ku fans

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

http://omaha.com/article/20100619/BI...m-four-star-qb

Bubba Starling may never touch the pigskin in Husker red.

But a simple pledge reportedly given Saturday — to roam the field at Memorial Stadium if he does ever decide to play college football — is enough to create excitement for Nebraska fans.
Now comes the wait.

Starling, a four-star quarterback prospect out of Gardner, Kan., gave NU a verbal commitment Saturday, according to rivals.com. He chose the Huskers over offers from defending national champion Alabama, Notre Dame, Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville and Texas Tech.

A projected first-round pick in next summer’s Major League Baseball draft, however, Starling could have a multi-million dollar deal thrown his way at this time next year. And a major decision to make.

“He’s probably going to be tempted with several dollars,” Gardner Edgerton baseball coach Jerald Van Rheen said. “I don’t know how that is going to shake out.”

Nebraska fans have been through a situation like this before. Carl Crawford gave NU a commitment to play quarterback, but was chosen high in the MLB draft and elected to play baseball. He’s since become one of the top outfielders in the game for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Starling touched 95 mph on the radar gun numerous times this spring, even getting to 96 once VanRheen said. The coach wouldn’t be surprised to see 97 or 98 next season.

Starling followed up a sophomore season in which he hit .581 by hitting .508 as a junior.

“And that was a down year,” the coach joked.

Some scouts think he could be a dominating force on the mound. VanRheen says he would make a pretty good everyday player in centerfield, too.

What about football?

Starling took the Trailblazers to the state championship game last fall. He threw for over 1,400 yards, ran for over 1,300 more (the second year in a row he went over 1,000 in both) and scored 37 touchdowns.

Rivals.com ranks him as the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the country, and the No. 99 prospect overall.

He’s also got highlight-reel dunking ability on the basketball court, all part of the growing legend behind Bubba.

“He’s not just really good at all three,” VanRheen said. “He’s hands down the best player on the baseball field when he plays a game. He’s hands down the best on football field. He’s as good as they come in basketball.”

Gardner Edgerton football coach Marvin Diener takes it one step further.

“I don’t know if Kansas will ever see a three-sport athlete like him,” Diener told the Kansas City Star earlier last month.







There you have it...

The Kid is impressive no doubt. If he plays it's a huge get if not there still will be 2 other elite Qb's competing for the position.

[Thig Lyfe]

MAKING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IS BETTER THAN PLAYING QB FOR THE JAYHAWKS!?!?!? **** YOU BUBBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[duncan_idaho]

Does the heavy recruitment of Starling mean Nebraska views previously committed QB Turner as more of an ATH than a QB? Just curious. Or are they both ensuring the other?

I'd love to see Sterling slip enough to be the on the board for the Royals NO. 2 pick in the MLB draft (or maybe to the supp. round if they have picks there).

Also... wondering how ku fans are feeling about Gill's recruiting so far. The jayhawks are 0-8 on four-star (and above) in-state prospects in their last three classes and now 0-1 so far in Gill's first shot, the 2011 class (with Jordan Phillips a big fight and slim chance). In the past three years, they have signed just eight of the top 10 players (8-30) and are 1-7 so far this year amongst the kansas top 10 with committed players. Of the three remaining, one is Phillips (OU lean), and the other two don't have ku offers.

ku was 0-10 in the top 10 instate last year. Tough to keep a program going with that kind of struggles with your in-state base...

[Sam Hall]

I'd be happy if he makes it to campus. I'd be even happier if he focused full-time on football.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Pro-ball, here I come.

No kidding, I don't know how you don't take the money. Nothing to see here folks....

[Sam Hall]

I'm prepared for him to get drafted and play pro baseball. This seems too good to be true for the Huskers.