Football Remains Focus as Jake Locker Mulls Angels' Offer

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim selected Washington quarterback and summer collegiate baseball player Jake Locker in the 10th round of the amateur player draft Wednesday, and the former Pac-10 freshman of the year said he would be interested in signing with the club.

Locker, who hit .273 in 10 games with the Bellingham Bells of the West Coast Baseball League last summer, is slated as the Huskies' starting quarterback. He has maintained football is his primary focus.

"Definitely," he said when asked about the possibility of signing in a teleconference. "If we can come to an agreement about a contract in terms - it's something that I'm looking into now. But again, they understand that it would probably be a couple of years before I was playing baseball anyway."

Locker ruffled some UW football faithful by choosing to play summer baseball before last football season, though then-coach Tyrone Willingham allowed him to do so. His football season ended prematurely with a broken right thumb sustained laying a block last September against Stanford. With two more years of football eligibility left, Locker's NFL chances are rather vague considering he has not established himself as a polished passer.

Baseball could become more of a possibility in about 18 months.

"The [Angels] contacted me before the draft and asked me my interest in playing; I think it's the same that it's always been," he said. "It's not a priority. I had a couple of other teams that came to me about possibly signing to hold rights to me, so if football didn't work out, you know baseball would be an option. I'm very up front with them about that. They understand that football is my priority, and that I'm going to give my devoted effort to it right now, and we'll see where it goes from there."

The Angels drafted Locker as a center fielder and he has some options in signing. If he decides to sign and accept a signing bonus, he will be considered a football walk-on, which would free a scholarship for new coach Steve Sarkisian. If Locker hires an agent, he would be considered a professional, so his father, Scott, likely would negotiate any deal with the Angels to preserve eligibility.

"I don't know how [a contract] wouldn't be enticing to anybody," he said. "But nothing is guaranteed to anybody in anything. This is just something, if things don't happen to work out as I hope they will, then I have the opportunity to still play for a living, and I think that is a pretty good opportunity.

Locker alleviated any of Sarkisian's concerns by saying he will pass on baseball this summer to concentrate on football. The Huskies start a pivotal season Sept. 5 with LSU and Locker is ready.

"[Winning] very important. I haven't lost focus on that," he said. "That's what my goal is, to turn this program around, and be part of the team that did it. That's what we're focused on. I'm not playing [baseball] this summer. I'm going to focus all of my attention on football here, and this doesn't change any of that."