ASU receiver Jones covering all his bases

During the summer, Michael Jones made a little money while playing baseball in the New York Yankees' system.

Next summer, Jones could make a lot of money in an NFL camp as a high-round draft selection.

The Arizona State wide receiver is a top-100 prospect on several boards and has been projected to be picked as high as the first round. He is now working toward the next level on the football field, but - sounding like a man torn between two sports - Jones wonders how far he could go on the diamond.

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"It was a great experience," Jones said. "I would do it again if I had the chance. I got to learn a lot while professionally playing a game that I've loved my whole life....

"I see why people wonder why I'm not doing football all of the time. But I love baseball. If I had to do that every day for the next few years in my life, I wouldn't complain."

After playing in 15 games for the rookie-level Gulf Coast Yankees in Tampa, Fla., Jones returned to ASU just prior to this week's start of fall practice. During the Sun Devils' first four workouts, he looked as if he has not missed a step.

In consecutive practices on Wednesday and Thursday, Jones - a senior who has 70 receptions for 1,109 yards and 13 touchdowns in his career - beat starting cornerback Omar Bolden down the right sideline to make an over-the-shoulder grab of a long pass from quarterback Rudy Carpenter.

"Mike has been pleasantly surprising," said ASU coach Dennis Erickson, who gave his blessing to Jones to play baseball, even though he was not crazy about the idea. "For not being here in the summer, he has come along nicely.

"He was playing baseball, so if I'd needed someone to swing a bat for us, he'd have been perfect. But he came in here ready and running. He's in pretty good shape, and he's done what we need."

The 6-foot-4, 203-pounder played three seasons as an outfielder on the school's baseball team and was drafted twice, most recently by the Yankees in the 29th round (890th overall pick) in June. ASU baseball coach Pat Murphy has said that Jones possesses major league-level athleticism.

Statistically, Jones had a shaky stint for Gulf Coast, batting .184 with twice as many strikeouts (18) as hits (nine, in 49 at-bats). Still, there were instances when Murphy's sentiment was echoed by a Yankees coach or scout.

"I struggled at times, but there were times when I hit the ball hard or made a nice catch in the outfield, and a guy in the organization came up to me and said, 'You can play this game if you want to play it year-round. You have the potential to be in the big leagues one day,'" Jones said.

"That was great to hear it, but the fact is that I'm playing for ASU now. I still think about (baseball), but now, I'm focused on football."

In 2007, playing minor league baseball during the summer did not adversely affect Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon once football began. He was the Heisman Trophy front-runner and guided the Ducks to the brink of the Bowl Championship Series title contest until suffering a season-ending knee injury.

While passing time on an Atlanta Braves affiliate, Dixon studied football, even using sunflower seeds to diagram Oregon plays. Jones did not bring an ASU playbook with him to Florida.

"He knows this offense," Erickson said. "He's smart."

Jones politely declined to reveal how much money he made playing baseball, saying only that "it wasn't a lot, but enough" to get him to sign.

"My mom told me to drop it in a fund and let it sit there," said Jones, who had to forfeit his football scholarship as a result of turning pro in another sport. "I probably won't see it for a while."

Jones' immediate concern is getting back into football shape and developing synergy with the Sun Devils' offense. Although his practice performances so far have been lauded, he said he has gotten tired later in workouts.

His tall frame and leaping ability have made Jones ASU's big-play receiving threat, with a team-high 10 scores last season. He would like to build speed and strength before the 2009 NFL draft.

"Now is not the time to worry about getting fast and strong," Jones said. "Now is the time to worry about building chemistry with my teammates and getting ready for the season....

"I know I can play in the NFL, and it's my job to come out and show people that, every single Saturday."