David Ash‘s football career has come to an end, but that doesn’t necessarily mean his sports playing days are over.
A Texas spokesperson confirmed to Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News that the former UT quarterback is exploring the possibility of playing baseball for the Longhorns. According to Carlton, Ash has already thrown a few bullpen sessions in front of UT’s pitching coach.
Carlton cautions, though, that "[t]he sessions were described as very preliminary and no decision has been made about Ash joining the team.” The Morning News writer also notes that Ash “would be trying to crack the roster of a team that reached the final four of the College World Series [earlier this year] and is expected to be a national contender this season.”
Ash is coming into what’s currently an experiment as a novice as he never played baseball in high school. It would appear his best shot of sticking with the high-profile collegiate stick-and-ball program would be as an arm out of the bullpen.
It’s also a move that caught a UT assistant football coach, Shawn Watson, by surprise.
Watson on former QB David Ash trying his hand as a pitcher: "He mentioned it and I didn't think he was serious. Obviously, he was serious."
— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) October 14, 2014
The peek at another sport comes nearly a month after head injuries forced Ash to retire from football.
Entering the season opener as the starter at quarterback, Ash suffered another concussion in the win over North Texas. He never played another down of football for the Longhorns.
In addition to the issue this year, he also missed most of last year due to a concussion suffered early on in the season. After incurring the original injury Sept. 7, Ash returned two weeks later only to see the concussion symptoms recur and sideline him yet again. In late November, Ash was officially shut down for what little was left of the season. In mid-January, he was cleared by the UT medical staff to resume football activities.