How Mariners prospect Colt Emerson’s football days helped his MLB ascent

PEORIA, Ariz. – The Colt Emerson play his high school football coach remembers most occurred during a game on Oct. 22, 2021.

It was not the half-ending Hail Mary he skied to snare between defenders for a titanic 41-yard touchdown.

It was the targeting penalty that resulted in Emerson’s ejection.

On Thursday, Emerson – a consensus top-10 prospect in MLB – went 2 -for -3 in the Mariners’ 8-7 Cactus League win over the Cleveland Guardians. The highlight was an RBI triple that trickled to the wall, as Emerson lost his helmet barreling around second base. The 20-year-old torpedo slid headfirst into third, then pointed to his dugout with dirt darkening his jersey. He redirected a 90-mph fastball off the shin of pitcher Joey Cantillo for a second-inning single as well.

His twitch, talent and hustle were all on display.

Both on Thursday, and in the aforementioned football play.

“The part I remember most is that 99% of high school kids don’t make that play. They’re nowhere near being able to make that play,” John Glenn (Ohio) High School football coach Matt Edwards said of Emerson’s collision-turned-penalty, a controversial call in the second half of a 20-7 loss to rival Tri-Valley. “He was playing backside safety and they threw a seam route that turned into a skinny post.

“When I watch that play, even though it has bad memories for me, just to watch the sheer amount of ground he covered in a short period of time, it was a reminder that most high school kids ain’t making that play. In fact, very, very few kids are.”

Emerson was not most high school kids. He was an all-state youth wrestler and ascending basketball player, before giving up both to focus on baseball and football. He was the Gatorade Ohio Baseball Player of the Year in 2022-23, after hitting .446 with a .594 on-base percentage, eight homers, 39 runs scored and 26 stolen bases as a senior at John Glenn. He was the 22nd overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft, and could make the big club less than three years later.

“He’s a talented player, and a versatile one at that,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said of Emerson, who started at shortstop Thursday after making previous appearances at third base. “You talk about versatility being a key for us, and he’s displaying that down here. It doesn’t seem to take away from his at-bats, no matter if he’s playing a different position. He’s able to leave that out there, and then when he’s at the plate he’s a different guy. It’s been awesome. He’s had a really nice spring so far.”

That versatility is nothing new. In Emerson’s final football season, as a junior at John Glenn, the Little Muskies’ leading receiver posted 58 catches for 756 yards and eight touchdowns, while snagging five interceptions at free safety. But that, somehow, is barely scratching the surface.

“He holds most of our school records for wide receivers, even though he played basically two years,” Edwards said. “He actually was a three-year starter as a punter and kickoff guy for us, which was an absolute luxury. Every time he kicked off, the ball went into the end zone. He averaged 40 to 45 yards a punt. He had a phenomenal leg as well.”

The 6-foot, 195-pounder earned Muskingum Valley League MVP and first-team All-Ohio Division IV honors in his football finale. Edwards said “he was a Division I kid (as a football talent), without a doubt, even if he had just punted and kicked off. We haven’t seen a kid that was as skilled as him.”

Not bad for – let’s face it – an offseason hobby.

“My dream was to be a baseball player,” the New Concord, Ohio, native emphasized Thursday. “Football was basically off time. That’s really what it was, to get away from baseball.”

Football, though, made Emerson’s baseball better.

“Playing football was a big one for me,” Emerson said of the sports that propelled him onto this path. “You’ve got to get hit and stay up on your feet. Out here (on a baseball diamond) there’s no contact, but at the same time you’re playing hard. You’re jabbing back and forth. It’s (from) a lot of long days on the football field, for sure.”

Emerson doesn’t mind the long days.

Which is how he got here.

Not by being a natural at basically everything. By never saying no.

“I’m just trying to go out there and compete and be myself,” Emerson said. “I love baseball. I really do enjoy being on the field and spending time with these guys. So any chance I get to play, I’m never going to say no.”

Added Edwards: “Obviously the baseball part is well known. But he’s a kid I had to kick out of the weight room. He was a kid I had to tell, ‘You need a rest day. You need a recovery day.’ He had goals, and nothing was going to get in his way.

“I’ve never been around a kid who had the work ethic that he did. We use him as an example all the time. ‘This is a kid who was special, and he knew it, but he had to continue working.’ ”

Even now, Emerson has to continued working. A Mariners roster spot on opening day is far from guaranteed, with reigning All-Star Brendan Donovan available at third base and J.P. Crawford still stationed at short. Plus, special prospects don’t always pan out. Cactus League triples don’t always translate.

But here’s something I can say with near certainty:

The Colt Emerson play you’ll remember most hasn’t happened yet.