FORMER OSU recruit signs deal with Rockies

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Former Oklahoma State quarterback recruit Matt Holliday has settled on a baseball career. <br><br>Holliday has agreed in principal to a six-year contract with the Colorado Rockies

Wednesday, August 15th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Former Oklahoma State quarterback recruit Matt Holliday has settled on a baseball career.

Holliday has agreed in principal to a six-year contract with the Colorado Rockies that will place him on the 40-man roster and guarantee him at least $700,000 during the course of the deal, according to a report in the Rocky Mountain News.

Holliday, a high school All-American at Stillwater, signed a letter of intent with Oklahoma State in 1998 but never played because he signed a three-year deal with the Rockies. That deal expired this summer, leading to speculation he might return to football.

``I'm happy with my decision. I feel like I'm getting close and I hope to be playing in Coors Field in a couple years,'' Holliday said.

Holliday is considered one of the Rockies best power-hitting prospects. He is recovering from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow. He is expected to be fully recovered by early February.