Former Tennessee Vols DB Colton Hood confirms what baseball fans have always known after rookie minicamp with the New York Giants
Former Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Colton Hood was selected by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Hood was the first former Vol selected in this year’s draft.
Former Tennessee Vols cornerback Colton Hood confirmed on Saturday what baseball fans have always known — tracking a baseball is much harder than tracking a football.
Hood, a second round pick by the New York Giants in the 2026 NFL Draft, spoke with reporters on Saturday following rookie minicamp.
The former Vol was asked about his ability to catch the football instead of “panicking” like some defensive backs do when the ball comes their way.
Hood pointed out that he played center field growing up and that tracking a baseball is a lot harder than tracking a football.
“I think a lot of DBs panic because they’re not great at tracking the ball,” said Hood. “I played baseball. I played center field, so tracking a football is 10,000 times easier than tracking a baseball. I wouldn’t say it’s easy, but it’s something I’ve been doing my whole life. It comes natural to me.”
Hitting a baseball is arguably the hardest thing to do in sports, and catching a baseball hit over 100 mph while standing 400 feet away in center field isn’t much easier.
Football players are obviously some of the best athletes on the planet. But most football players, unless they grew up playing baseball, would probably look silly if you stuck them on the diamond and told them to compete.