By Larry Lage
The Associated Press

DETROIT - Drew Henson isn't about to give up his dreams of playing major league baseball to become an NFL quarterback.

Henson, who once split playing time at Michigan with New England QB Tom Brady, is eligible for this weekend's NFL draft and could be taken.

He says: "Forget it."

"Yes," Henson snapped when asked if he definitely had given up football. "It's a stupid question to have to answer. I've answered it like 50 times."

Henson has not played football since leading Michigan to a Citrus Bowl victory on Jan. 1, 2001. Three months later, he vowed he had left the game behind when he signed a $17 million, six-year contract with the New York Yankees.

But there remains talk about football because he has struggled on the diamond.

The third baseman at Triple-A Columbus, he is batting .175 with two homers, five RBIs and 17 strikeouts in 57 at-bats, entering Thursday's game against the Louisville Bats.

"It's too early to get frustrated," Henson said.

Last year, the Yankees hoped he would be ready to play in the major leagues, but he wasn't. He batted .240 for the Clippers with 18 homers and 65 RBIs, striking out 151 times in 471 at-bats. He also had 35 errors.

In 2001, his first year as a full-time professional baseball player, he made brief stops with the Yankees' Class A and Double-A teams before hitting .222 with 11 homers and 38 RBIs in 71 games at Columbus.

Last year, Henson acknowledged Houston might have taken him No. 1 pick in the NFL draft over David Carr had he returned for his senior season with the Wolverines. But he didn't care.

"I don't have any 'what ifs,' or regrets or doubts," Henson said.

Henson said NFL teams are wasting a pick if they choose him.

"Teams can do what they want to do, but I've got three years left on my contract," Henson said. "I'm trying to get to the big leagues and I'm trying to help New York win."

Whether he likes it or not, he is expected to be a late-round pick Sunday.

"He's a wild-card guy," said NFL.com analyst Gil Brandt, who was Dallas' director of player personnel for 30 years. "He hasn't been playing all that well in baseball. That doesn't mean that career is over, but I think somebody will take a chance on him in the draft because of his talent."

Matt Millen, president and general manager of the Detroit Lions, thinks Henson will be drafted.

"Probably in the seventh round," Millen said. "We've had discussions about him because he's quite a talent. Why wouldn't you take a late-round flier on a player like that?"

If a team drafts Henson, it has his rights for a year. If he doesn't sign, he is eligible for the next draft. If he doesn't sign again, he would be an NFL free agent in 2005.

Chicago Bears running back Anthony Thomas, who played with him at Michigan, wishes Henson could play both sports like Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson did.

"I would love to see him play football again because he's such a talented quarterback," Thomas said. "I don't think that kind of talent leaves you, even if you haven't played in a few years.

"We have kept in touch. We talked about three weeks ago, but we don't talk much about football. Drew's a unique person, so there's really no telling what he's thinking about that."

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