U's Decker has best of both sports worlds

CBSSports.com ranks Gophers wide receiver Eric Decker the third-best wide receiver among 2010 NFL draft prospects.

The top-ranked receiver is Brandon LaFell of Louisiana State, followed by Mardy Gilyard of Cincinnati.

Gophers football coach Tim Brewster believes Decker is the best college receiver in the country. And while NFL scouts can't talk about individuals, you get the impression from visiting with them that the Gophers senior has a great future in football.

No doubt, football is Decker's best game at present -- but only because he hasn't played a lot of baseball. Decker hit .319 for the Gophers in 59 games this spring, with four homers and 25 RBI.

The Twins drafted Decker in the 27th round in June and have until Aug. 15 to make him an offer and sign him. Under NCAA rules, Decker still could play football even if he signs with the Twins. He isn't planning to play pro baseball this year, regardless of what happens.

"I think he's a tremendous athlete that is still learning how to play the game," Gophers baseball coach John Anderson said recently. "He hasn't played enough yet to really determine what his total upside is in the game. He doesn't play in the summer. We don't get a chance to coach him during the year because of football. He's only really played high school baseball and this is his second year in the program here.

"I still think where he ends up as a baseball player is really unknown until he really spends full time in that sport vs. splitting his time between football and baseball."

Decker already has graduated, with a year of football eligibility remaining. He is a top student with a great personality who is going to have a great future in whatever he does.

"As I told him, 'That's where you want to be in life, you want to have options,'" Anderson said. "He's going to have some decisions to make. I think the scouts watch him play and they always think the same thing: 'Where is this guy's upside going to be someday?'

"He changes the game with his speed. He changes the game in some way, shape or form with his running speed on offense and defense. ... He's still learning to be an all-around hitter that can hit for power and average at this level."

The Twins have had contract talks with Decker, but it's obvious as a 27th-round choice that he is not going to get big money.

He is only 22. There have been cases where an athlete has signed a football contract and failed in that sport, then switched to baseball and succeeded.

I believe Decker is too good a football player to have this happen, but you never know.

Sullivan loves game Vikings football coach Brad Childress is high on the chances of second-year center John Sullivan succeeding as he takes over for Matt Birk this season.

"We as coaches talk about guys that are gym rats, guys that you always go to the gym and find hanging around doing something, whether they are lifting weights or in the meeting room or just standing there just having a conversation. I'm in there at the wee hours of the morning and here comes John Sullivan."

Vikings wide receiver Bernard Berrian recently expressed his feelings about quarterback Brett Favre joining the team: "[I'm] kind of a little bit torn not knowing if he is going to be here, not knowing if he is actually going to sign with the team. If he does, it will be a great addition to the team. If he doesn't, we are going to move on with Sage [Rosenfels] and Tarvaris [Jackson]. If Brett does come, it does slow down their progression and them trying to get ready and prolong their career in the NFL.

"I didn't take part in any camps in the offseason, I was just working out down in Los Angeles with a couple of coaches out there to get ready for this season and a couple of other receivers."

Jottings Kevin McHale, the former Timberwolves coach, is talking to TNT and ESPN about the possibility of doing some NBA work on television, but he hasn't received an offer yet.

A recent $500,000 donation has made it possible for the University of Minnesota to have a brick fence around the stadium rather than concrete. ... Two tickets for the Gopher-Air Force football game to open TCF Bank Stadium on Sept. 12 recently sold for $350 on the Internet. Scalpers are going to have a great year selling Gophers tickets, with all the game virtually sold out except for seven executive boxes which are available for individual games for a big price -- $8,500 for Air Force, $6,500 for Wisconsin and Purdue, $5,000 for California, Michigan State and Illinois and $4,250 for South Dakota State.

The Gophers came close to recruiting their fourth outstanding Wisconsin football player but Mike Hardy, a defensive end from Kimberly, Wis., committed to Iowa.

Travis Busch was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to Colorado State when he decided to leave the Gophers basketball program. But the other night, while playing in the Howard Pulley league, he suffered a serious knee injury. There is a question about when he will be able to play this season.

Gophers baseball catcher Kyle Knudson, playing for Mankato in the Northwood League, made the league's All-Star team. ... Ex-Gophers infielder Nate Hanson is hitting .242 for the Twins' Class A affiliate in Beloit, Wis.; Hanson's former college teammate, Kyle Carr, is 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 17 innings for the Twins' rookie league team in Elizabethton, Tenn.

Mike Wuertz, the righthanded pitcher from Austin, Minn., is have a great year with the Oakland A's, boasting a 5-1 record with a 2.95 ERA. He has fanned 53 in 42 2/3 innings. ... Craig Breslow, who was claimed on waivers by Oakland from the Twins, is 1-4 with a 4.46 ERA.

Former Twins outfielder and Rochester native Michael Restovich is hitting .294 for the White Sox's Class AAA Charlotte farm team with 11 home runs and 37 RBI.

Four members of the Gophers track team landed on the U.S. Track and Field/ Cross-County Coaches Association All-Academic team. They are Tyler Kleinhuizen, Ben Puhl, Luke Silovich and Aaron Studt. To be eligible, a student must have a 3.25 grade-point average.

Tom West, an outstanding member of the Vikings public relations staff, suffered serious burns while working on his parents' farm last weekend in Lewiston, Minn. After spending three days in the hospital, he is recovering at home.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on his Podcast once a week at www.startribune.com/sidcast. shartman@startribune.com