Parkview High School Baseball, Football Player Colin Houck Voted 2023 ITG Next Georgia Male Athlete of the Year
Parkview two-sport standout student-athlete Colin Houck is the 2023 ITG Next Georgia Male Athlete of the Year, presented by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance. Houck was one of four nominees chosen for the award. ITG Next Georgia readers could then go online and cast their vote for top male athlete in Georgia.
The other choices were Hughes quarterback Prentiss Noland, Wheeler boys basketball player Isiah Collier, and Westlake track and field standout Sidi Nije. In the end, it was Houck who received the most votes to claim top athlete honors, and a look at what Houck was able to accomplish over his career at Parkview in two different sports seems to show that the Mississippi State commit was well deserving of the award. Houck finished his football career with 6,284 yards passing and 66 TDs, both school records.
Two coaches worked closely with Houck during his high school career at Parkview. One, QB coach and offensive coordinator Jeremy Holder, coached Houck from the moment he started playing football at Parkview until his final season in 2022.
“I’ve known Colin since he was in the fifth or sixth grade, and have been his coach ever since he started in our program,” Holder said. “It would be hard to find a better example of what a dual-threat QB should be like than Colin. He finished as the all-time leading passer here, and he could get it done as a running quarterback when he had to.”
Holder said Houck’s accomplishments were phenomenal, especially when you consider how much time he devoted to another sport he loved: baseball.
“It’s truly amazing how much he accomplished on the football field when you look at how much effort he spent on baseball, too,” said Holder. “I don’t recall Colin ever missing a workout or anything where he wasn’t at something for baseball. I mean, he balanced a truly demanding schedule that asked a lot out of him for both baseball and football.”
The Parkview assistant coach said there were times when, if the two sports did cause conflicts during the week, Houck would ask the coach to come in on the weekend to help him get caught up.
Chan Brown, Parkview’s head baseball coach, has also known Colin since he was a small child. The coach’s son, Cade, grew up with and played baseball alongside Houck. Coach Brown also offered up his adulation for Colin.
“Colin was our most dynamic player. Period,” Brown said. “He can do it all very well: Defense. Power. Speed. Colin’s focus and determination made this team better every day.”
In his baseball career as a right-handed pitcher and infielder, Colin appeared in 130 games and batted .421 batting average with an OBP of .517 and 159 hits in 465 plate appearances. He finished with 29 HR, 136 RBI, and 39 stolen bases in 41 attempts. As an infielder, mostly at shortstop, Houck finished with a .907 fielding average.
Houck is committed to Mississippi State University, but he is projected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming MLB draft, which could present the former Parkview standout with a difficult decision.
Whatever his choice, one thing is certain: Colin Houck is the ITG Next Male Athlete of the Year for 2023, presented by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance.
