Former top prospect Donavan Tate has committed to play football at the University of Arizona

Back in 2009, Donavan Tate was one of the most sought-after high school athletes in the country: In addition to a commitment to play quarterback at the University of North Carolina, the Georgia native and star outfielder was drafted third overall in the '09 MLB Draft by the Padres. After some consideration, Tate decided to stick with baseball and signed with San Diego for a then-club-record $6.25 million.
Sadly, Tate's time on the diamond was derailed by injuries -- he only appeared in 40 or more games twice in his six seasons -- and he never made it higher than Class A. But that doesn't mean his athletic career is over: He's still just 26, after all, with all four years of NCAA eligibility remaining. So, on Thursday, he announced that he's walking on to the University of Arizona football team as a quarterback.

Of course, Tate's hardly the first two-sport star to make a late career change. After being selected by the Yankees in the second round of the 2002 Draft, Brandon Weeden spent five seasons in the Minor Leagues before retiring from baseball, enrolling at Oklahoma State and setting nearly every major passing record in his four years on campus. Chris Weinke spent six years in the Blue Jays' system, advancing all the way to Triple-A, before Bobby Bowden finally convinced him to play quarterback at Florida State -- where he went on to win the Heisman Trophy and a national championship. 
And then, of course, there's Drew Henson, who managed to do both at the same time: The Yankees drafted the star third baseman in the third round of the 1998 Draft, just a few months before he began a football career at the University of Michigan -- where he split snaps for two years with some guy named Tom Brady. After the 2000 college football season, Henson left Michigan and committed to baseball full-time, eventually making his big league debut with the Yankees in 2002. He then retired from MLB in 2003, was acquired by the Dallas Cowboys in 2004 and played for four NFL teams over the next five seasons. (He's now a scout for the Yankees, just to make everything come full circle.)
Will Tate enjoy a successful second act himself? Who knows -- but he was a top-100 recruit once upon a time, so don't count him out.