http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/
FROM KEITH GROLLER
Mike Nikorak, the Stroudsburg High quarterback who led his team to the Mountain Valley Conference championship last year as a sophomore and to a 2-0 start so far this season, is headed to Alabama.
But to play baseball.
Nikorak, who was also the Mountain Valley Conference's MVP on the diamond last spring, recently verbally accepted a baseball scholarship offer to play for the Crimson Tide.
I visited Stroudsburg on Tuesday night to talk to Mounties coach Jim Miller and some players about Friday's big game with East Stroudsburg South and Nikorak confirmed his big news.
"I'm definitely excited," he said about committing to Alabama. "They saw me play down at tournaments in Florida and Georgia and they liked how I was playing. Then I went down to their campus and really liked everything I saw. They offered me a scholarship and I really couldn't turn it down.
"Everything down there is first class as far as the coaches, the facilities, the academics. It definitely drew me in. I think they were ranked 24th or 25 in the country last year, and of course, playing in the SEC gets you a lot of looks as far as the next level. But the college experience is definitely going to be good."
Nikorak, who is 6-foot-3, was a first-team all-league outfielder in the MVC last season, said he was recruited as a pitcher and a DH.
His brother, Steve, played baseball at Temple and was selected in the 32nd round (981st pick overall) of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft. However, he was released by the team this past June.
"Steve helped with the recruiting prcocess," Nikorak said. "I go to him with anything. He's definitely my role-model when it comes to this stuff."
Nikorak said he was on a tournament team called Zoned, Inc. from Bridgewater, N.J., when he caught the eye of Alabama playing down south.
Although he has close to full years left at Stroudsburg, Nikorak already has something perfected.
"Roll Tide!" he said.
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