Cool piece in this morning’s Inquirer about Eagles’ rookie wideout DeSean Jackson and his erstwhile talent for baseball.  As you might imagine, DeSean was “good at sports” as a kid, and had something of an aptitude for more than just football. 

Things I learned from said article included: (1) DeSean was a speedy leadoff guy (Um, yeah, that makes sense), (2) DeSean’s dad lived in the same house as Roberto Clemente growing up (Huh?), (3) both the Phils and Rays took a look at him as a high schooler (How relevant!), and (4) the DeSean Jackson Is Cocky ™ meme is alive and well.

Certainly the CamelCased One doesn’t lack for confidence:

“I was definitely pretty good,” Jackson said. “I had a lot of speed. I was a leadoff hitter, and I’d get on and steal second base. Sometimes, I’d be risky and steal third. Sometimes, I’d even try to steal home. I led my league in steals and batted like .400.

“I thought about [baseball], and I didn’t like the idea of going on long bus trips and playing in the middle of nowhere when it was hot. I know it takes a long time to get to the big leagues, and I couldn’t see myself sitting in a hotel room watching football, because it’s something I love.”

Mercifully, DeSean hasn’t forgotten his Nuke LaLoosh media training, and quickly followed up with a salvo of rookie-appropriate cliches:

“I might pull my Deion out after this football thing is over,” Jackson said in reference to former two-sport star Deion Sanders. “It seems like it would be tough to do both. I’m just playing football and that’s tough, so I can only imagine what it’s like to do both.”

Yes yes, it looks very difficult for you.