Today tells Evangel’s Peyton “Pop” Houston that he is doing the wrong thing.
Today loves to point out that having a singular athletic focus is what works is these times. The competition is too fierce; the stakes are too high.
Today is always there to remind Houston of what he needs to do, not what he wants to do.
But today has never met Peyton Houston.
By all accounts, Houston is the best football player in the area. As one of the top quarterback recruits in the country, he is certainly the most recognized by fans, opponents and, of course, college recruiters (though he has committed to LSU).
He is none of those when it comes to high school baseball, which is why you might wonder why Houston is playing baseball this spring for the Eagles. Why risk the fame, future and NIL fortune just to try to score a runner from third on a Tuesday night in March?
You must have never met Peyton Houston.
He is an outfielder and a third baseman who has to check the lineup card to see if he is even going to start in each Evangel game. He might play, he might not.
Makes no difference.
“The reason I play baseball,” he says, “is because I love the sport.”
In an age in which specialization has become far too commonplace among multi-talented high school athletes, Pop is an exception.
Everyone who wonders why he is out there shagging fly balls or working on bunting instead of throwing out-routes in the off-season needs to stop wondering. The answer is simple.
Houston is a 17-year-old kid who enjoys the chance to play baseball.
That’s it. Now, how could you possibly fault that?
Those of you who might be worried that the athletic pendulum is swinging, settle down. Football is still his No. 1 but “(baseball) is almost like a getaway from football,” he says. “I get a chance to let loose and have a little fun with the guys and spent time with them.”
And then he completes that thought with this: “I just get to be a teenager sometimes.”
Told you.
“He is a phenomenal teammate, person and hard worker,” says Evangel first-year coach Joey Ford. “No matter where life takes him, he’s going to be successful because of that.”
“You’ve got to bring the same leadership role in baseball because at the end of the day, I like winning,” Houston says. “I’m super competitive so even if I’m not playing, my job is to keep the team positive.”
Sure, he could snap an ankle rounding second base or stepping in a hole in a ruddy high school outfield. He is well aware of that and has zero concerns about it.
“I’m not cautious at all (playing baseball),” he says. “It’s the same as in football. If you think getting hurt, that’s when you get hurt.”
Though there is one slight concession toward his football talent/future. Houston says he has played just about every position during his baseball career, but if he were free to go play anywhere he liked, he’d probably run to the pitcher’s mound. Mainly because of the similarity to having the ball in his hands like he does as a quarterback.
“But that’s the one position they don’t want me to play,” he says.
Understood.
Don’t think that rust is going to a problem because of his time on the baseball field. Houston says he throws the football multiple times per week and tries to do some kind of football-related activity every day.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say that it’s good to be versatile and play multiple sports because you build athleticism,” he says. “It allows you to do things you really aren’t used to doing on a daily basis.”
When football season comes along, feel free to celebrate the accomplishments of Peyton Houston all you want. There will be – and already have been – plenty.
In the meantime, don’t forget to celebrate a simpler accomplishment: Doing what he loves to do.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com