As you may have heard, the National Football League will be conducting a draft of its own this weekend. Some club may take a late-round flier on former Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija, who would have been a first-day pick before he signed a $10 million baseball-only contract with the Cubs in January. But there’s another wide receiver who played college baseball last spring who may get drafted and stick in the NFL.

Ryne Robinson hit .253 with 13 steals as an outfielder at Miami (Ohio) as a junior in 2006, but he has put his speed to better use on the gridiron. He led the Mid-American Conference with 91 catches and 1,178 receiving yards in 2006, setting school career records in both categories (250 and 3,697). He’s also one of the best punt returners in NCAA history with 1,688 career yards (85 short of the all-time record) and seven touchdowns (one shy). He isn’t playing baseball for the RedHawks this spring, concentrating instead on his football future.

Robinson is very small by NFL standards at 5-foot-9 and 179 pounds, but he does run a 4.51-second 40-yard dash. According to Pro Football Weekly, he has a chance to get drafted as a return specialist/slot receiver. Robinson’s cousin JoJuan Armour played linebacker in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Baseball scouts liked Robinson’s speed as well, though he went unclaimed in the baseball draft a year ago. The consensus was that he projected better as a second baseman than as an outfielder in pro ball.