Drew Henson to return to football?

[DraftBoy]

I was perusing around The Sporting News website earlier and caught in the upper left corner of the main page that they had moved Drew Henson up to #7 on their QB list, it was a Subscriber only thing so I couldnt read on but anybody who is one or knows anything about this please inform the rest of us.

[lordofgun]

I hear the Yankees demoted him to AAA and he's ticked off.

[The Spaz]

A coouple of NFL teams are just thinking about callinin his name to have his rights if he decides to play again. As far as I know I haven't heard Henson himself say that he wants to play football agin but who knows. Here's some info on Drew Henson:

http://www.draftbook.com/2003/drewhenson.html

Go Bills!

[EDS]

Sporting news is just speculating that he may be interested in returning to football.

"Speculation of former Michigan quarterback Drew Henson trading in his baseball spikes for the gridiron continues to increase. Henson chose baseball over football three years ago, when he signed a minor-league contract with the New York Yankees instead of making himself eligible for the NFL draft. It had been speculated that he would have been drafted in the top 10.

However, Henson has struggled on the baseball diamond and is rumored to be interested in returning to the NFL. He has not made a decision, but don't be surprised if a team drafts Henson in the middle rounds just in case he makes a comeback. ... "

[itsandthings]

He automatically became eligible for the draft because his class graduated. He didn't declare for the draft, but he is in it.

It is likely a team will use a mid-to-late pick on him just to acquire his rights for a year in case he decides to quit baseball. The problem is the Yankees have a contract with him that specifically prevents him from playing football. Thus, if Henson decides to quit, he would have to negotiate a settlement with the Yankees so they would release him. In order to do that, the Yankees are likely to want at least some of the millions they paid him back, and Henson may not want to do that.

[PA Season Ticket Holder]

Sometime in the next few weeks, after Carson Palmer has signed his initial NFL contract and banked a fat signing bonus check, the Southern California quarterback will report for the rookie orientation and pull on his first set of Cincinnati Bengals stripes.


Ironic because the most intriguing quarterback prospect in the 2003 lottery already has a set of stripes, New York Yankees pinstripes that is, and plans to be wearing them for a long time.

Drew Henson, the former University of Michigan quarterback who in 2001 abandoned a promising football career to sign a six-year, $17 million deal with the Yankees, is eligible for the '03 draft. Several teams have hinted that they might invest a late-round pick on Henson, currently playing third base for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, just to gain his NFL rights.

But both Henson and his representatives from IMG strongly suggested this week teams need not waste their time or even a seventh-round selection.

"I guess that, until I'm playing third base in Yankees Stadium and in the lineup every day, this is always going to be an issue," Henson said. "But the truth is, football just isn't in my plans, and the questions are starting to get a little old. I'm not a quitter. I'm following through with baseball. This is what I want to be doing. This is my focus."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfldraft/columnist?id=1540300

[The_Philster]

Halfway through his second full season in the minor leagues, still struggling at the Triple-A level, Drew Henson isn't significantly closer to playing third base at Yankee Stadium than he was when he signed a contract with baseball's most storied franchise in 2001.

But then again, two months after the Houston Texans provided the former University of Michigan star quarterback a potentially tempting career alternative, Henson is no closer, either, to abandoning his baseball dreams and trading in his batting helmet for a headgear. In fact, Henson is every bit as adamant now about continuing his baseball career as he was when the Texans invested a sixth-round draft choice in him....

more (http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasquarelli_len/1575899.html)

[BillsFever]

While the rest of the Texans begin two-a-day workouts today, Drew Henson will be on a field of another kind in Norfolk, Va.

Despite struggling at the plate and being no closer to a major league call-up with the New York Yankees, Henson considers himself more third baseman than quarterback. And for now, that makes him a Columbus Clipper instead of a Texan.

Another football season is about to begin and the former Michigan quarterback-turned-Yankees' minor-league prospect is watching from the sidelines -- or in Henson's case the dugout.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/fb/texansfront/2012982

[The_Philster]

HOUSTON -- Drew Henson looks less like a third baseman and more like a quarterback after the New York Yankees' trade deadline maneuvering.

That intrigues Houston Texans General Manager Charley Casserly.

The Texans, who spent a sixth-round draft choice on Henson and hold his NFL rights until next April, don't need a young quarterback -- they already have David Carr. But they could trade him to a team that does.

The 23-year-old former University of Michigan quarterback was considered the Yankees' third baseman of the future until Thursday, when New York acquired Aaron Boone from Cincinnati...more (http://www.detnews.com/2003/lions/0308/02/sports-234043.htm)

[The_Philster]

September 2, 2003 -- TORONTO - Since Drew Henson wasn't deemed good enough to be a September call-up, the Yankees likely wouldn't discourage their struggling Triple-A third baseman from leaving them for an NFL career, because the former Michigan QB would have to return $12 million of the $17 million contract he signed in 2001 that runs through the 2006 season.
According to an ESPN report yesterday, Henson has decided to quit baseball and take a stab at playing in the NFL, where the Houston Texans hold his rights. It's the second time in a week that a report has Henson going to football.

If that's the case, he hasn't started the process of leaving the Yankees....
more (http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/39643.htm)

[The_Philster]

Here's the latest in what is becoming almost daily speculation about former Michigan quarterback Drew Henson, the Texans draft pick who plays baseball in the Yankees organization.

During the past few days, there have been reports that Henson has decided to walk away from baseball. Henson denied those reports, but many familiar with the situation always have believed the struggling hitter would give football another try. He just finished a season with the Class AAA Columbus Clippers with a .234 average, a year after batting .240 with them....
more (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/fb/texansfront/2077162)

[Cntrygal]

He was where he'd hoped he'd be last night -- in the thick of a pennant race, pulling on pinstripes in the Yankee clubhouse next to Roger Clemens for the biggest series of the season. But Drew Henson wasn't in the lineup and doesn't figure to be, unless Aaron Boone turns an ankle on the dugout steps.

"I'm here for infield depth," said Henson, who was called up from Triple A Columbus Thursday after shortstop Derek Jeter strained a rib cage muscle and Erick Almonte injured a calf muscle warming up to pinch run. "If I get a chance to get in, I'll play my tail off."

more... (http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2003/09/06/henson_quashes_football_rumors/)