Alford attended Petal High School in Mississippi, where he was the quarterback of the football team in addition to playing baseball. As a senior, he recorded 2,058 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns, in addition to 1,731 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns, and played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. In the same year, he batted .483 with four home runs and stole 14 bases in 14 attempts.\n', '

Alford attended University of Southern Mississippi, where he played college football. In the 2012 season, he contributed to the team as the starting quarterback in only five games due in part to a suspension for getting into a fight on campus. He was a dual-threat quarterback with the Golden Eagles. In the 2012 season, he was 57-of-127 for 664 yards and two touchdowns through the air. He had 105 carries for 329 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Due to a coaching change at Southern Miss and his ineffectiveness at quarterback, Alford transferred to the University of Mississippi where he also struggled.\n', '

Alford was projected as a first-round talent going into the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, but made it clear that his intention was to continue playing football, leading many teams to pass over him due to signability concerns. The Toronto Blue Jays drafted Alford in the third round, 112th overall. He signed a contract with Toronto which paid him a $750,000 bonus and allowed him to attend university to play football, and then play baseball in the summer. \n', '

Return to Anthony Alford Autograph Profile