Here's what Len Pasquarelli of ESPN writes about Samardzija's situation:
Does he want to be a pitcher or a (pass) catcher? That's a question Jeff Samardzija is going to hear a lot over the next year or so, and how he answers it might play a role in determining just how interested NFL teams will be in using a first-round draft choice on the standout Notre Dame wide receiver next spring.
The fact Samardzija signed a baseball contract with the Chicago Cubs this week won't change the manner in which NFL talent scouts assess the wide receiver as a football prospect during his upcoming season with the Irish. What it will affect, however, is the way scouts approach interviews with Samardzija after the season, and the line of questioning they use with him at events such as the Senior Bowl and the combine.
And it could affect, even if he is chosen in the first round, Samardzija's NFL contract negotiations as well.
Samardzija has said, candidly, that he hopes to pursue careers in both sports. But most NFL franchises, as we have witnessed this summer, frown on players who aren't on hand for voluntary workouts during the spring. And if Samardzija is chasing a career as a Major League Baseball pitcher, at the same time he's trying to progress as an NFL receiver, it might not sit well with coaches.
The early read on Samardzija is that he rates as one of the top senior wide receivers in the country, perhaps a first-round draft choice, despite his lack of top-end speed. But scouts want to see more of Samardzija, who exploded in 2005, catching 77 passes for 1,249 yards and 15 touchdowns, after having compiled only 24 receptions for 327 yards and no touchdowns in his first two seasons.
There are some suspicions that Samardzija's numbers were enhanced by the Charlie Weis offense, but his statistics were very impressive, even if they were inflated a bit by the system in which he played. And scouts want to see how he stacks up against other top senior prospects at wide receiver, such as Jason Hill of Washington State, Southern California's Steve Smith, Fresno State's Paul Williams and Steve Breaston of Michigan. There is also a bevy of impressive underclass receivers -- like Ted Ginn Jr. of Ohio State, Dwayne Jarrett of Southern California, South Carolina's Sidney Rice and Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech -- who might be in the 2007 draft class.
Bottom line: It's very early in the evaluation process. But not too early for personnel directors and scouts to start wondering about Samardzija's plans for his future as a professional athlete.
At 6-feet-4 and 214 pounds, Samardzija possesses great size, but one Midwest college scout noted this week that he will scrutinize the Irish star much closer this year to see how he handles physical coverages.
"He's a guy who's got the extra asterisk next to his name now, given the baseball situation, because it complicates things," said the scout. "You still evaluate him the same. You still stack him as a football player on your draft board. But there comes a point where you have to be convinced he's committed to playing (football). I'm not saying the two-sport things devalues him, but it's a factor you have to take into account. You'd be naïve to think otherwise."
A right-handed pitcher, Samardzija was drafted by the Cubs in the fifth round, and signed a five-year contract said to be worth as much as $7.5 million. The deal is backloaded, meaning that Samardzija only will earn the big money in the contract if he continues to pursue a baseball career.
Samardzija reported to the Class A Boise Hawks this week and will be with the team into August, until he has to report for the start of Notre Dame's preseason practices. And for the start of a lot of questions about which sport he views more seriously.
