When most kids coming out of high school were trying to decide which college they should attend, Billy Baber had a unique choice to make: go to college on a football scholarship or make money playing professional baseball.
Naturally, Baber took his mother's advice and decided to attend Virginia. Now he's the starting tight end in the dangerous Cavalier passing game, after seeing only spot duty for the first three years of his Cav career.
The former All-State tight end from Western Albemarle High School was heavily recruited by at least six other schools, including West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, the Cavs' opponent Saturday. But professional baseball scouts had also been watching Baber.
During his senior year of high school, Baber hit 18 home runs to set the Western Albemarle career homer record with 28, eight more than the next closest player. The 6-foot-4, 242-pounder ranks in the top five in seven other offensive categories.
After being named All-State in baseball as well as football, Baber was drafted by the Florida Marlins, but his mother, Pattie, steered him away from a pro baseball contract so he could earn a college degree.
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"My mom always wanted me to get an education," Baber said. "And this is one of the better schools with better programs and with a better academic side of things. I kind of looked at this as the best place for me."
During his first two years at Virginia, Baber played in every game and even started six games when the injury-prone Casey Crawford could not suit up. But over the second half of his sophomore season, Baber caught only one pass with Crawford healthy again.
After his role dwindled at the end of the 1998 season, Baber returned to baseball, his first love, in the spring of 1999. He joined coach Dennis Womack's team as a reserve first baseman and designated hitter. He played in seven games, going 1-for-9, but decided to switch back to football for the start of spring practice.
"I've been playing baseball ever since I was four or five years old, and it was always my love," Baber said. "But football is great right now. It's fun and I have a good time on Saturdays."
With Crawford once again bitten by the injury bug in 1999, Baber started the first 10 games. That season was Baber's best year for the Cavaliers, as he caught 17 passes - four for touchdowns - and kept alive his streak of playing in every game of his career.
Through four games of this year, Baber has caught seven passes for 84 yards, numbers he hopes will improve as the season progresses.
"I've been here three years so I know how [infrequently] they throw it," Baber said. "I'm not really looking for too many. If we win, it's great for the team, but I'd love to catch more."
Baber took the first step towards that with three receptions in the loss to Clemson. And according to quarterback Dan Ellis, Baber could get even more attention from now on.
"We need to use the middle of the field," Ellis said. "We can't just throw to the outside, so we need to throw the ball to the tight end. Billy's a good tight end. He can catch it and run. He knows what he's doing"
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