Best two-sport athletes in the history of North Carolina, NC State and Duke

By Mark Bergin, WRAL senior multiplatform producer

Several two-sport athletes have competed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and Duke University.

Not every two-sport athlete was as dominant as Deion Sanders or Bo Jackson.

However, North Carolina has produced several athletes who have achieved excellence playing two sports.

North Carolina’s Julius Peppers (football and basketball)

Julius Peppers is eligible in 2024 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is fourth on the NFL’s all-time sack list with 159.5, is second all-time in forced fumbles (52) and was a two-time selection to the All-Decade team for the 2000s and the 2010s.

On Oct. 29, the Panthers will induct Peppers to the team's Hall of Honor.

Peppers played for the Carolina Panthers (2002-2009, 2017-18), Chicago Bears (2010-2013) and Green Bay Packers (2014-2016) during his NFL career.

The Panthers selected Peppers with the second pick of the 2002 NFL Draft.

Peppers played football from 1999-2001 for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the 2021 season, he was an All-American and won the Chuck Bednarik Award, which is given to the nation’s top defensive player.

Peppers played running back at Southern Nash High School.

On the hardwood, Peppers played two seasons for the Tar Heels from 1999-2001 as a reserve forward. He averaged 5.7 points per game and 3.7 rebounds.

He played in two NCAA Tournaments.

In 1999-2000, Peppers played under head coach Bill Guthridge. The Tar Heels made it to the Final Four that season before losing to Florida.

The next season under Matt Doherty, the Tar Heels lost in the second round of the tournament to Penn State.

NC State’s Russell Wilson (football and baseball)

Before Russell Wilson became an established NFL quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos, he played football from 2008-2010 for NC State and in 2011 for Wisconsin.

The Seahawks selected Wilson with the 75th pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. He’s a Super Bowl champion (XLVIII), won the Walter Payton Man of the Year (2020) and is a nine-time Pro Bowler (2012-2015, 2017-2021).

Wilson led the 2010 Wolfpack team to a 9-4 season that included a win against West Virginia in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Wilson also had a baseball career as a second baseman. Wilson played 106 games of college baseball across three seasons for NC State, hitting .282 with five home runs. The right-hander also made 10 appearances as a pitcher in his final season at North Carolina State. He struck out eight batters and allowed eight earned runs in 12 1/3 innings.

In June 2010, the Colorado Rockies drafted Wilson with the 140th overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. He played minor league baseball for the Rockies’ Class A short season affiliate, the Tri-City Dust Devils in 2010. He also played in 2011 for the Asheville Tourists, a Class A affiliate.

In 2011, Wilson returned to college football with the University of Wisconsin, Wilson led the Badgers to an 11-3 record and he completed 72.8% of his passes. That season, Wilson threw 33 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

In December 2013, the Texas Rangers acquired Wilson in the Triple-A Phase of the Rule 5 draft. Wilson attended spring training in 2014 and 2015.

In February 2018, the New York Yankees traded for Wilson. In March 2018, Wilson pinch-hit for Aaron Judge in the fifth inning during a spring training game against the Atlanta Braves. He struck out on five pitches.

North Carolina's Michael Jordan (basketball and professional baseball)

Everyone knows about Michael Jordan's accomplishments on the basketball court. He's considered by many people as the greatest basketball player ever.

Jordan won six NBA championships (1991-1993, 1996-1998), five NBA MVPs (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1998) and a 14-time NBA All-Star ((1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002, 2003).

When Jordan retired from the Chicago Bulls for the first time in October 1993, he decided he would try playing professional baseball to honor his late father.

Jordan appeared in 127 games in the 1994 season for the Birmingham Barons a Double-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Jordan batted .202 with three home runs, 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, 114 strikeouts, 51 bases on balls and 11 errors.

As a basketball player at North Carolina, Jordan hit the game-winning shot in the 1982 national championship game against Georgetown. North Carolina went 88-13 in three seasons with Jordan.

NC State’s Terry Harvey (football and baseball)

Harvey is known for his exploits as a right-handed quarterback and pitcher. He played quarterback for the Wolfpack from 1991-1995.

Harvey ranks seventh in NC State history with 5,925 passing yards, eighth in completions with 442 and eighth in touchdown passes with 38. In a game against Wake Forest, Harvey threw for five touchdown passes.

Harvey left NC State holding records for most career baseball wins (35), strikeouts (386) and innings pitched (425.1).

In his first college baseball start as a freshman, Harvey held Wake Forest without a hit for 8 1/3 innings. A ninth-inning bobble by a Wolfpack shortstop was deemed an infield single by the official scorekeeper to end his no-hit bid.

In 1993, Harvey threw a no-hitter against Florida State.

As a minor league baseball player, Harvey played three seasons before injuries derailed his career.

North Carolina’s Octavus Barnes (football and basketball)

Octavus Barnes played two seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons. He played in Super Bowl XXXIII.

Barnes signed with the Carolina Panthers in 2000, but his playing career ended due to injuries.

The Wilson native was a four-year letter winner from 1994-1997 for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Barnes ranks seventh in UNC history in receiving yards with 2,398 yards, 14th in receptions with 129 and seventh in receiving touchdowns with 19.

Barnes played five games for the Tar Heels basketball team during the 1994-1995 season. He missed all three of his shot attempts.

Duke’s Dick Groat (basketball and baseball)

Groat was an eight-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series champion. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1952, 1955-1962), St. Louis Cardinals (1963-1965), Philadelphia Phillies (1996-1997) and San Francisco Giants (1967).

From 1956 to 1962, Groat teamed with Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski to give the Pirates one of the most efficient keystone combinations in baseball history.

In basketball, Groat was a two-time All-American (1950–51, 1951–52) at Duke. In his final regular season game, Groat scored 48 points visiting UNC.

On May 1, 1952, Groat had his jersey number 10 retired to the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium.

In baseball, Groat played shortstop for the Blue Devils. In his senior year (1952), he helped to lead the team to a 31–7 record and their first College World Series. For the season, Groat hit .370 and led the team in doubles, hits, runs batted in and stolen bases.

Groat died in April at the age of 92.

Duke’s Greg Paulus (basketball and football at Syracuse)

Greg Paulus played point guard for Duke from 2005-2009. He played in 139 games for the Blue Devils, averaging 8.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

However, Paulus only started five games his senior season in 2008-2009 due to the development of sophomore guard Nolan Smith.

Paulus played quarterback in 2009 at Syracuse University, leading the Orange to a 4-8 record. He completed 67.7% of his passes, throwing for 2,025 yards and 13 touchdowns.

In 2010, Paulus tried out for the New Orleans Saints in the NFL. He did not make the team.