OMAHA, NEB. - You might not know that North Carolina freshman Kendric Burney is a two-sport athlete -- until you see the College World Series game ID hanging around his neck.

Pasted beside the appropriate information -- name, school, etc., -- is a headshot of the reserve pitcher/ outfielder in a football uniform.

He joined the Tar Heel baseballers in January, well after their pictures had been taken.

"I watched [the College World Series] last summer from my dorm room at Carolina ... wondering if I'd ever get here," said Burney, who redshirted his first football season, but will play cornerback next year.

"To be here now, watching in person, is just awesome."

Burney appeared in 11 baseball games this year, walking once at the plate, stealing a base, walking one batter from the mound as well as serving as a pinch runner. He is one of five Tar Heels players who travel with the team but are not on the 25-man active roster.

Considering baseball is such a family tradition, however -- his dad played in high school, while his mom played softball -- just getting to Omaha is special.

After starring in football (as a quarterback and safety) and baseball (as a pitcher) at Jacksonville's Southwest Onslow High, Burney was recruited for both sports by various schools in both the ACC and SEC. He had trouble choosing a school.

"But once I took a visit here [to UNC], I knew this was the place to be for both sports,'' said Burney, who is on full football scholarship. "And both coaches agreed I could give it a try."

When Butch Davis was hired to replace fired football coach John Bunting in November, he agreed to honor the promise that Burney could walk on to the baseball team, as long as he returned for spring practice. He did, missing about three weeks at Boshamer Stadium.

Baseball coach Mike Fox -- who played junior varsity basketball, as well as baseball, for two years at Carolina before deciding to concentrate on the latter -- said Burney has the talent to play more in the future, depending on how much he can be with the team.

"I think a lot is going to depend on his role with football; if he's going to be a starter, they're going to want him there a lot,'' Fox said. "We'll just wait and see what happens with that."

Burney said he's trying not the think about the day he might have to choose one sport over the other. For now, he plans to play both next year in hopes of going to a Bowl, and then back to Omaha.

"Baseball will always be a love I have,'' he said. "But football is strong in my heart, also."

Which makes that ID around his neck a special keepsake.