From Minor League Baseball to Jordan-Hare: The Cord Sandberg story

Rarely do you find a backup quarterback, or anybody, on a college football team with a story like that of Cord Sandberg. 

In high school, Sandberg was a dual-sport athlete, with the potential to be a top pick in the MLB draft, and college offers to play quarterback.

Sandberg initially committed to play at Mississippi State. But when the Philadelphia Phillies drafted him with the 89th pick of the 2013 MLB draft, he opted to follow in his father’s footsteps and play baseball. Sandberg signed a $775,000 contract the day after being drafted.

Sandberg’s father, Chuck Sandberg, played baseball at the University of Florida and in the Red Sox organization. Chuck was never able to reach the major league level, topping out in Double-A.

While Chuck may have never made it to the major league level, his experiences as a collegiate athlete and professional were a benefit to his sons growing up. 

“My brother and I were always really competitive, and my dad was always there throwing batting practice to us and him playing quarterback in the front yard and just having one-on-ones with me and my brother all that good stuff,” Sandberg said. “He was definitely huge, a huge part of my life, and a big part of my success in high school and all through baseball while I was playing.” 

Cord spent six seasons in the Phillies minor league system, starting at rookie ball and worked his way up to Double-A. But that was as far as he made it and ultimately decided to call it quits.

The rest of the Sandberg family was supportive of Cord’s decision to walk away from the sport. 

“When it came time to make a decision, they were supportive. I was 23 at the time, so it was kind of one of those things where they understood that I had been there for six years and really once I was first drafted going back and playing college ball, it was always an option,” Sandberg said. “They’ve enjoyed watching me in baseball and now football.”

Cord may no longer play baseball, but he still keeps in touch with many of his former teammates. Some of his former teammates have even gone on to play in the majors, while others have retired and gotten a different job. 

Even though baseball didn’t work out how he had hoped, he had no regrets about playing the sport. 

“I really enjoyed my time because I was able to grow in my faith a lot playing minor league baseball,” Sandberg said. “I definitely don’t regret it at all, but I think that if for some reason someone I know or even if I have sons that end up having a choice like that I think college is something that I might want them to do just so they can not have to grow up so fast.”

Following his six seasons in the minors, Cord had offers to join LSU and North Carolina State as a preferred walk-on but chose to go to Auburn, where he was offered a full scholarship.

When he joined the Tigers in July of 2018, he was behind Jarrett Stidham, Malik Willis and Joey Gatewood on the depth chart. 

As one might expect, the transition back to football took awhile. 

“Honestly, my throwing motion coming back was probably the thing that took the longest to get because with baseball I was focusing on getting behind the ball, and then with football, it’s just different, so that took a while,” Sandberg said. “But I think really just the throwing motion in general cause I kinda didn’t forget like coverages. Coverages kinda stayed with me as far as where to go with the ball and simplify it that way.”

During his first year, Sandberg talked to everyone from Stidham to the equipment guy trying to get his throwing motion back to standard. He saw minimal playing time in 2018 with just one brief appearance against Alabama State and was redshirted. 

With Stidham gone, a full season under his belt and a full off-season to prepare, Sandberg continued to improve and prepare for the 2019 season. The quarterback room was crowded with 5-star freshman Bo Nix coming in, and Gatewood and Willis still on the roster, but that didn’t impact Sandberg’s determination.

First, Willis transferred, putting Sandberg at third on the depth chart. After the LSU loss, Gatewood transferred, and all of a sudden, the former baseball player was second on the depth chart, a play away from taking the helm of an AP Top 25 team.

After seeing his name move up on the depth chart during the season, Cord got more reps in practice and continued to prepare for if his name was called. 

While he was prepared to play at any given time, Cord had the November 23 matchup against Samford circled on his calendar. He knew the game had the potential for the first team to get a lead and give the backups playing time.

Fate sometimes plays unusual games, and on the day of the Samford game, it brought a thunderstorm to Jordan-Hare and the surrounding area. 

“Going into the Samford game, I was hoping we could do some things then it was raining all day, and I was like, ‘NO! Is this gonna be a sloppy game where like the ones have to stay in?’” Sandberg said.

But thanks to Nix’s performance, which helped him break the school’s freshman completion record, Cord’s concerns would be put to rest, and the backups got to play.

Cord finished the game 5-of-7 for 84 yards and two touchdowns along with 33 yards on the ground. Both of Sandberg’s touchdown passes went to Zach Farrar. Neither Sandberg or Farrar had accounted for a touchdown while at Auburn entering the Samford game.

“It felt great,” Sandberg said after the game. “Really the past few weeks getting the chance to get some snaps in practice and trying to get the timing and confidence. It was great to go out there and really give the two’s just a chance to have some success. Obviously, I wanna build confidence but to give the players and coaches confidence in kind of that ‘what if?’ situation if you had to go in there and do some things so really happy with what we were able to do today.”

While Cord got a chance to shine on the field and instill some confidence after his performance, he helps his teammates off the field, as well. As someone who’s already played in professional sports, he does his best to help out the younger players.

“They do, and one of the positives is that it’s been good to just be there in that situation to talk to those guys,” Sandberg said about players approaching him for advice. “Obviously, I talk to guys, and it’s just kinda in the locker room and things like that, but that can lead to having conversations with guys and telling them just a little about my faith and some things that I’ve been through.”

One of the players Sandberg talks with the most is Nix. The two share a strong belief in their faith and spend a lot of time together in the quarterback room, according to Nix. 

“He’s been through so much already that you listen to the stuff he tells you and try to do whatever you can to be a good teammate for him,” Nix said after the Samford game. “Cord’s a great teammate for me, he’s a great quarterback, and we really just enjoy being around each other.”

Auburn athletes will be allowed back on campus on June 8. Cord and the rest of his teammates will have to adjust to new offensive coordinator Chad Morris. For Cord though, Morris is already a familiar face.

“Coach Morris has been great,” Sandberg said. “I actually, when I was getting recruited in 2011 was when I met Coach Morris when he was at Clemson he came to the high school, and I had a pretty good relationship with him, and then it’s kinda funny nine years later it comes full circle, and you’re in the quarterback room with him again.”