Jake Locker, the Huskies’ star quarterback, was recruited by a major league sports team at the beginning of summer vacation. But rather than for the National Football League (NFL), Locker was recruited for a sport he hasn’t played in three years. It was a baseball team: the Los Angeles Angels.

Locker was first recruited by the Angels right after high school, but he chose to play Husky football instead. Although he hasn’t played the game in three years — despite one season with summer baseball league team Bellingham Bells — the Angels are willing to take a chance on him.

Although he may end up playing for the Angels, Locker would like to finish playing out his four years at the UW and then play in the NFL.

“[Football] is the ultimate team sport,” Locker said. “I love that aspect of the game, and the physical aspect, too.”

Locker said that having fun with professional athletics — and all other sports — is more important than the money.

Sean Linville, Locker’s high-school baseball coach, recalled that the athlete had a natural talent for baseball.

“Within the first hour of my first practice at Ferndale [High School], I remember thinking, ‘This young man could be in the big leagues,’ and I still think it’s true,” Linville said.

Major league scouts seem to have agreed with Linville. Shortly after he graduated in 2006, Locker was the Angels 40th-round draft choice, but he decided that he’d rather develop his skill in what he is most passionate about and chose to play Husky football instead.

“[The UW] has one of the best coaching staffs in the country,” he said. “They make it fun, which I think is one of the most important aspects of the sport.”

This year, he was the Angels’ 10th round draft choice — a significant 30-place improvement since high school.

“I didn’t have any idea that I would be taken that high,” he said.

Several other baseball teams also contacted Locker about playing in the upcoming season, including the Minnesota Twins, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Texas Rangers.

Locker said that it’s “not a possibility” for him to play college football and professional baseball at the same time; he’s currently working out a deal with the Angels that would let him finish his four years at the UW, with a clause indicating he could be released from the contract if he is recruited by an NFL team.

Throughout the drafting process, Locker has chosen to work without an agent, a partnership that would cause him to lose his amateur status and render him ineligible to play Husky football.

Locker told UW football coach Steve Sarkisian that he plans to stay at the UW for now.

“Jake has reassured us that he’s committed to playing football for the Huskies,” Sarkisian said in a quote provided by the athletic department’s public relations staff.

The Angels will have to wait one more year to play Locker center field — as long as an NFL team doesn’t take him first.

Reach reporter Kaitlin Strohschein at news@dailyuw.com.