Greg McGhee laughed some when he talked about how the Perry Traditional Academy baseball coach used to bug him about going out for the team.

"He was always after me," McGhee said. "He'd tell me, 'We have a uniform just waiting for you. Come out and you'll win another championship.'"

McGhee, who said he was a good baseball player -- a pitcher and first baseman -- when he was in middle school, never played the sport for the Commodores. Too bad. It would have been interesting to see what he could do on the diamond with a bat and his speed.

He did, however, play football and basketball at Perry and excelled in both. As a quarterback/defensive back, he guided the Commodores to their first City League football title since 2005.

As a "big man" on the basketball team, he helped Perry to the runner-up spot in the City, the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinals and a 23-5 record.

Those are just two of the reasons McGhee is the Post-Gazette North Xtra's Male High School Athlete of the Year. Athletes of the year are selected by the Post-Gazette scholastic staff.

He continues a Perry tradition of producing talented athletes. The school has turned out such outstanding multi-sport stars as Rod Rutherford, Ricky Cannon and Darelle Porter.

Others who were considered for the North Xtra honor were Butler Area High School basketball and baseball standout Bobby Swartwout, Perry's Marcus Smith, who played soccer and basketball, North Allegheny's Byrun Luoco (basketball and track) and Connor Kuremsky (swimming and diving), and North Catholic's Martin Long (football and basketball).

In football, McGhee, who is 6 feet 2 and 190 pounds, completed 129 of 256 passes for 2,657 yards and 24 touchdowns with just 5 interceptions. He also rushed for 320 yards on 113 carries and scored 12 times. Plus, with his speed and athletic ability he was a terror for opponents when he played in the secondary at free safety.

He was the MVP of the City League final, running for two touchdowns and passing for another in a 32-0 victory against Brashear. Perry finished 11-2, losing to State College, 35-26, in the PIAA playoffs.

In basketball, he was one of Perry's tallest starters and regularly went against opponents who were 2 or 3 inches taller. Still, he averaged 15.8 points per game in the Commodores fast-break offense.

"And as good of a football and basketball player as he is, he's an even better person," Perry football coach Bill Gallagher said. "He's a warrior and he's worked hard in football to make himself as good as he is."

McGhee is headed to Howard University in Washington, D.C., for football. He had considered trying to play basketball there as well.

"I thought about trying to do both until I found out they brought in a bunch of new players for the basketball team," he said. "I figure I'll stick to football."

The surprising thing is that while growing up he always considered basketball his sport. He said he also played hockey when he was younger.

"I didn't play football my first year after midgets. I figured basketball was going to be it for me," he said.

The first year he went out for football at Perry he said he was the sixth-string quarterback. As a freshman, he played in a junior varsity game at Erie Cathedral Prep and that helped spark his interest.

McGhee worked at improving his football skills that following summer and ended up starting at quarterback as a sophomore.

"After that season I got a letter from UCLA saying they would be keeping an eye on me," he said. "That's when I kind of decided that maybe football was my best sport."

He was also outstanding at safety for Perry in the City final. The reason Gallagher didn't play McGhee more on defense is he didn't want to risk getting him injured.

"He was a very good defensive back for us and started at the beginning of the year," Gallagher said. "In the championship game we had a [defensive] starter out with a dislocated elbow and put Greg at safety and he did a great job.

"He's such a good athlete he could have played a number of positions for us. I watched him play against Montour in basketball in the state playoff and he was really impressive going to the hoop."

It will be interesting to see how McGhee does in football at Howard, an NCAA Division I-AA program, now that he is concentrating on just one sport.

"I think it will be better. I'll be able to focus on just one thing, put my energy into just one thing," he said.

Recruited as a quarterback, McGhee is hoping to get an opportunity to see some playing time this fall. He will leave for Howard, which competes in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Sunday and will take a couple classes this summer as he gets to know his teammates and familiarizes himself with the Bison's offensive system.

First Published: June 23, 2011, 8:00 a.m.