Hugh Kellenberger

The Clarion-Ledger

OXFORD -- Anthony Alford has settled on one sport.

The former Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball winner has left the Ole Miss football program in order to play baseball fulltime.

Alford is a member of the Toronto Blue Jays organization after the club drafted him in the third round of the 2012 MLB player draft. The original deal was for Alford to play baseball each summer while playing football in the fall and spring (first at Southern Miss, then at Ole Miss the last two years). But Alford said in August that the Blue Jays made him an offer at the end of the season to give up football.

"The (general manager) came down and tried to talk to me," Alford said. "He put some deals on the table and made it difficult on me."

It's not clear yet if the Blue Jays came back with another offer, but the one at the time was a five-year deal. Alford said he turned it down because he wanted to give football one more shot.

He recorded six tackles in four games for Ole Miss after sitting out the 2013 season because of NCAA transfer rules. Coach Hugh Freeze repeatedly said the coaching staff wanted to find a way onto the field for Alford, one of the team's better athletes, but that proved to be difficult. Alford was the backup safety to three-year starter Trae Elston and was also the No. 2 punt returner behind freshman Markell Pack.

Asked Monday about the team's punt returners, Freeze mentioned Alford by name. He had two returns for eight yards this season. Alford took snaps at quarterback during training camp and was a potential change-of-pace option, but did not see the field on offense.

Alford, who got married this summer, was a two-sport star at Petal High School. He threw and ran for nearly 3,800 yards and 44 touchdowns as a high school senior, and played in the U.S. Army All-American Game for football and the Under Armour All-American Game in baseball. He signed with nearby Southern Miss and was the team's leading passer in 2012. After an on-campus fight Alford transferred to Ole Miss.