A two-sport star, Granite Hills’ Parker Vance focused on making deep run in football – elcajon newson Elcajon News only

EL CAJON — Parker Vance has always wanted to run track.

“I think I’d be OK in the sprints,” the Granite Hills High School senior said. “I think I could run sub-11 in the 100.”

The problem with high school track season is that it’s the same time as baseball season.

And Vance is a very good baseball player.

He’s also a very good football player, a safety on a Granite Hills team that is 11-2 and plays Huntington Beach Edison on Saturday in a Southern California Regional Division 1-A playoff game.

Vance had made a verbal commitment to play baseball at TCU before the Horned Frogs decided to recruit through the transfer portal rather than a freshman class.

A right fielder with a strong arm, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Vance hit .299 last season with five homers, 17 RBIs and seven doubles on a team that was 22-8.

“Parker most definitely has a future in baseball,” said Granite Hills baseball coach James Davis. “He can swing it. He can run. He has a great arm. He plays great defense. There is a lot to like.”

In football, he has 77 tackles and leads San Diego County with nine interceptions.

Granite Hills football coach Kellan Cobbs calls Vance “the best safety in San Diego.”

“He has a ton of interceptions, so obviously, he has a nose for the ball. He can tackle,” Cobbs said. “But he does some much more for us, things that parents and fans don’t see, but we notice. Things that help us win games.”

In a semifinal playoff win over Carlsbad, Vance intercepted a pass in the end zone in the game’s dying seconds to preserve a win.

Earlier in the game, he recovered a fumble in the end zone that killed a Carlsbad drive, turning the ball over to the Eagles.

In the championship game against San Marcos, he had an interception.

“But he also played offense in that game,” Cobbs said. “He didn’t have a catch, but he got behind the defense and drew a pass-interference penalty that kept a drive alive.”

It was the third pass-interference penalty he has drawn this season.

And in the game’s closing minutes, he was on the kickoff team, covering an onside kick that put an end to San Marcos’ hopes.

Vance has drawn interest from Cal and San Diego State.

“I love both sports — baseball and football — equally,” Vance said. “I think I could make an impact in college in both sports. Football comes a little easier. Certainly, I work hard at it, but baseball takes a lot of work at so many different phases of the game.”

Blessed with natural speed, Vance said he has never been timed in the 40-yard dash, football’s speed measuring stick. He has run a swift 6.6 in the 60-yard dash, baseball’s timing distance. Scouts consider anything under 7.0 seconds to be fast.

“I like working hard and want to work on my explosiveness,” Vance said. “I only stole four bases last season. I want to be more explosive with my first step. I have the speed to steal a ton more bases.”

The Granite Hills football team has several baseball players, including Vance, Brenden Lewis and Trevor Smith.Football and baseball have a good relationship at Granite Hills, so whenever the football guys can get in some baseball work, they do it.

“Baseball is a year-round thing, but football is the priority now,” Vance said. “I had seven interceptions last year, and wanted to beat that this season.

“I felt if I could do that, I’d help the team win a championship. Now that I have nine interceptions, I’d love to get to double figures, get to 10. If I can get a 10th, it could help us win the game.”

Grades are no problem when colleges inquire about Vance. He has a 4.0 GPA this semester and is a 3.9 over his high school career.

“I’m not sure what I’d study in college, sports are my whole life,” said Vance, who follows the Los Angeles Rams in football and admires Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill of the Padres. “I want to play as long as I can — one or both sports. I’m not opposed to going away to college, but I’d be blessed to stay in San Diego.”