Buchanan feels super for former teammate Wilson

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Astros pitcher Jake Buchanan spent three years as teammates with one of the biggest emerging stars in the NFL -- Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who led his team to a Super Bowl title earlier this month in only his second year in the league.

Wilson was a baseball and basketball star at North Carolina State, before transferring to Wisconsin and eventually getting drafted by the Seahawks. Buchanan and Wilson were two of five players drafted out of North Carolina State and into Major League Baseball in 2010. Wilson went in the fourth round to Colorado, and Buchanan in the eighth to the Astros.

"He's a good guy," Buchanan said. "I think he's one of a kind and he's going to be good for a while. He's pretty intelligent and knows how to go about his business and is a pretty smart guy out there. On and off the field, he's top notch."

On the football field, Buchanan said you could tell Wilson was something special early on.

"He was just smart with the ball, threw it away when he had to," Buchanan said. "You always knew he had that part of the game and someone had to give him a chance, and he's turned into the best."

Buchanan hasn't talked to Wilson since he was drafted, but he's certainly kept up with his rocket to stardom.

"It's pretty cool," Buchanan said. "You play baseball for three years and have been in the locker room with him for years and you really know the guy, and then he's all over SportsCenter and that's all they talked about there for the whole fall and offseason was Russell Wilson this and that. I'm proud of him."