Early Decision? Penn two-sport star Mark DeRosa may decide to leave school early to play professional baseball

West Hartford, CT "Everybody thinks we're breaking some rules. I'm sure we're bending some rules, but everybody else better start bending some too." In any case, when Quakers football and baseball star Mark DeRosa's words were printed in August's college football preview edition of Sports Illustrated, he helped initiate a conversation the University didn't necessarily need. "I took a lot of heat from that," DeRosa said. "It was a mistake. It was a little taken out of context -- I learned a big lesson from it." That statement, however, was the lone shadow DeRosa has cast upon the University, upon which he has shined so much light. The clean-up hitter and starting shortstop for the baseball team, DeRosa is probably more well-known for being the starting quarterback for the football squad. And even though baseball is in full swing now, DeRosa continues to train with the football team football. After the Quakers lost to West Chester on Tuesday, DeRosa had about an hour to get ready for spring football practice with the rest of his other teammates. He's not the only multi-sport athlete at Penn. Graduating senior Amy Tarr played three sports -- field hockey, basketball and lacrosse. And Joey Allen played football and wrestled. DeRosa isn't even the first athlete to play both baseball and football in the same year. In 1981 and 1982, Rick Syrek played both sports. But Syrek's legacy has forced many observers to question DeRosa's decision to play football in addition to baseball. In 1983, Syrek, the captain of the football team, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a game against Princeton after catching a sideline pass -- ending his athletic career at Penn. "I would never want him to not play [football]," Quakers baseball coach Bob Seddon said of DeRosa. "I go to every game, and I worry about him every game." But DeRosa doesn't concern himself with the possibility of an injury in one sport that would affect him in the other. "When it's football season, it's football season. When it's baseball season, it's baseball season," DeRosa said. Football aside, DeRosa is now making news in baseball. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior is deciding whether to turn professional and play minor league baseball. About 10 to 15 scouts -- including representative from the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers -- have come to watch DeRosa play this year. But Seddon is skeptical of the pros, having watched senior first baseman/pitcher Mike Shannon go through the same process last year. "I really have no idea where they are with their thinking," Seddon said. "We went through this last year with Mike Shannon, and nothing happened. They've been watching [DeRosa] this year. I don't think he's helped himself, but whatever they're going to do, they've probably already made up their minds by now." DeRosa is beginning to consider his post-draft options seriously. "I have to decide on an agent in the coming months," DeRosa said. "And then I'm going to see the offer that's presented if I get drafted." Getting an agent, however, could be a sticky issue. According to Carolyn Campbell, Senior Associate Director of the Ivy Group, once a player gives up eligibility, he can no longer play in the Ivy League. The line which determines whether or not eligibility has been given up is incredibly vague and varies from sport to sport. If DeRosa makes ties with an agent, he is no longer eligible for baseball in the Ivy League. However, if he receives no money, he can still play football. If DeRosa ever signs with a team, receives money or attends a professional mini-camp, his football eligibility would be revoked too. "If [getting drafted] doesn't happen, I'll come back to the campus and play football and baseball again," DeRosa said. "It's a win-win situation either way." Seddon says he will support DeRosa, should he choose to leave early his decision. "I'd never be anti-that," Seddon said. If professional baseball does not work out for DeRosa, he could apply for a fifth year of football eligibility, since he was redshirted his freshman year with a back injury. "Down the road, hopefully, I'll get a chance to get into an organization and work my way up," DeRosa said. "But it would be nice to play five years of football and do a lot of good things for the school. "I think it would be great, but a lot of things have to be weighed, and me and my family have to make a decision in June, if it happens." According to Seddon, the decision may be deeply based on the financial situation of DeRosa's family. "I think the family's decided that financially, they might want some help. And I don't know if there's enough of that to make that feasible," Seddon explained. "If you're going to do it, you go after your junior year if it's financially worth it. But he's in Wharton. He's not going to leave school for peanuts." In his perfect world, DeRosa would love to go to the Yankees. But obviously he would take any offer that came is way. In his perfect world, DeRosa will once again be in Sports Illustrated -- not casting shadows, but lighting up the pages with his spectacular talents.