OXFORD | Jerrion Ealy made a decision the day before the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft in June.

The ultimate choice he’d been pondering for more than a year was still a day away from revealing itself, but as the tea leaves turned toward the likelihood that he’d have a college career of some type at Ole Miss, the Jackson Prep two-sport star traveled north to Oxford.

It was a calculated plan to be at his likely new home as the draft began. Easy didn’t want to make a rash decision or get starry-eyed over an attractive signing bonus that was less than his threshold to give up college football or potentially college baseball. It also saved some time since he knew which way the next 24 hours would likely go in deciding his future.

"I knew a couple days before (what was going to happen) and that’s why I came on that Sunday,” Ealy said. “I knew (the draft) may not go my way. I drove up knowing that I was going to school. I’ll get a shot at it again in another three years. There’s nothing wrong with playing football and baseball in college.”

A year ago Ealy was a projected top-20 pick and among the names discussed for multi-million dollar signing bonuses. But through a series of factors including his love for football, his success with football and his relative struggles on the baseball field, the outfielder’s stock significantly fell in round and signing bonus potential.

Kyler Murray's football-baseball ordeal likely didn't help either.

Ealy had a number in mind that was necessary if he were going to skip college altogether, and there was another number in mind for him to sign to play baseball professionally but still play college football.

No team wanted him to do the latter, and no team was willing to pay his asking price to do the former. So, instead of signing in the compensation round or the second round for less than expected, Ealy is with the football Rebels as a running back and will join the Ole Miss baseball team in the spring. Instead of regret, he’s excited. He gets the challenge and the opportunity.

“It was a sigh of relief to have the decision made,” Ealy said. “I was looking forward to that day for a whole year. I was ready for that day to come and get over with so I knew what I’m doing. Now that the day has come and is over I’m 100 percent certain and so glad to be sitting here today.

“I love football too much for that number they threw at me. How bad could it be to play two sports in college? I’ll get another shot. I have a chance to up my draft stock and I’ll have more leverage.”

Ealy described Ole Miss offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez’s system as a “perfect fit,” and he also has a good setup in place to attempt the rigors of multiple sports. With football the main focus until the season ends, Ealy has to find time for baseball on his own. Organized practices won’t be a thing, and it’ll require after-hours training to maintain any sharpness as it pertains to his second sport.

But he’s going to have help.

John Rhys Plumlee, freshman quarterback and former Oak Grove star, is also going the multiple-sport route. Plumlee had draft interest and also entertained thoughts of dropping college baseball to sign with a professional team. But instead he and Ealy can keep each other accountable, have more thorough baseball workouts and help each other with the strain of the packed schedules.

Plumlee, an outfielder, was a top 500 prospect out of high school.

“It makes batting practice a lot easier because you don’t have to hit off a tee all the time,” Ealy said. “Having John Rhys there is phenomenal. We’re going to grow together and go through the ups and downs together. We can bounce everything off each other. We can know we got football at whatever time and then we got to get baseball work done. You can do a lot more things with another person there. You can throw when you need to, hit when you need to. It’s a perfect combination.

“You’ll see me in the cages if it’s midnight even. I’ll get my work in, and that’s how I go about it.”

Plumlee spent time with the incoming baseball freshmen and some upperclassmen who spent the break in Oxford before football camp began, meeting his teammates and getting in some swings since time allowed. It’s not perfect acclimation, but it’s something. For now, the small snippets and the work as time allows will be the goal as it pertains to baseball.

The primary task this month is football and acclimating as a college student once classes begin. The reality for Ealy and Plumlee is constant motion. It’s a challenge they both cherish as its gets underway.

“I don’t want to take football so serious that it cuts into baseball or the classroom, and that goes for any of the three areas,” Plumlee said. “They are all really equivalent and a priority. I’m going to stay on top of that to focus on whichever is most important at that moment but make sure why are balanced. The goal is to be elite at everything. Why else do it?”