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SAN DIEGO—Dennis Pugh said it was perhaps the toughest decision he has made in 25 years of coaching.

The head coach of both the football and baseball teams at Mission Bay High in San Diego, Pugh had to tell his best football player to give up the sport.

The reason? While Matt Bush was one of the school’s best football players, he was one of the top high school baseball players in the country.

“Matt was an all-league football player as a sophomore,” Pugh said. “But he quit two games into his junior year. It killed us because he was our quarterback. With him, we would have been good, very, very good this past season.

“But I couldn’t with a clear conscience force him to play football. Matt is the best baseball player I’ve ever coached. He’s a five-tool guy who also throws 92. He’s a smart kid, a gamer who loves the moment.”

Giving up football wasn’t an easy decision for Bush. He loved the thrill of Friday night lights, playing in front of big crowds in San Diego where football is king.

“Let’s face it,” Bush said, “football is the big sport in high school. I had a lot of fun playing football, really enjoyed it. But I can make something of myself in baseball. I work hard, but baseball comes naturally.”

Cat-Quick First Step

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Bush is a gifted shortstop and righthanded pitcher. He hit .458-8-34 last season and was dominant on the mound against some of the nation’s top competition, earning second-team All-America honors, the only junior to do that.

Most scouts say his great arm plays best at shortstop.

Pugh compares Bush to Trevor Hoffman of the Padres, who was drafted as a shortstop, then converted to a pitcher and is now one of the best closers in the game. Pugh said Bush could easily pitch at the next level if he stumbles as an everyday player.

“I saw Alan Trammell in high school and Bush has that same quick first step,” one Southern California scout said. “He’s a half-step ahead of everyone else. He has a plus-plus arm, a quick release, gap power, great instincts, and he loves to play the game.

“The only knock is that he’s only an average runner. He may not be a top-10 pick, but he certainly has the potential to go in the first round.”

Another Southern California scout said, “We pick late in the first round, and there is no way in the world he’ll be there for us.”

Bush spent much of the offseason lifting weights in an effort to build his body and improve his game and draft status. Working alongside Brewers prospect Tony Gwynn Jr., Bush is bigger and thicker now.

Bush has signed to play college ball at San Diego State for Gwynn’s famous father, but if the scouts are right, it’s unlikely Bush will ever wear the red and black of the Aztecs.

Eager And Able

There is no question Bush wants to sign with the team that drafts him. But he has hit the books because he wants to keep the college option open.

“I really like the idea of staying in San Diego and playing for Tony Gwynn,” Bush said. “I kind of want to go to college now.

“But if I’m taken in the first round, and everything is right, I’d most likely sign.”

With the extensive summer schedule many top prep players endure, Bush has spent a lot of time away from home. He’s played in Minnesota, Kansas City, Florida and all over California and welcomes the opportunity to play, regardless of locale.

“So I think I’d be fine on my own in the minors,” Bush said. “I think I have an aptitude for the game.

“I love making the long throw from the hole. I love turning double plays. I think I have the hands and feet to play shortstop at the next level.”

Pugh will preserve Bush’s health this spring, playing him primarily at shortstop. But the 25-year coaching veteran says Bush will pitch for the Bucs, as well.

“Matt will most likely pitch at the end of the week,” Pugh said. “I can’t pitch him on Tuesday and ask him to play short the rest of the week. And I won’t use him as a closer. I want to protect his arm while also trying to win games. I think this is a plan that works for Matt and the team.”

Bush’s plan is to have a great senior season, and then do a little bass fishing on a Southern California lake as he awaits the draft in June.

“I’ve been looking forward to this season since I started school,” Bush said. “I can’t wait to get going.”

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—His nickname is “Dirt.”

Good luck in trying to dig up any on Florida State’s private and reserved shortstop, Stephen Drew. With 72 extra-base hits in two seasons, including 27 home runs, he makes most of his noise with a bat, not with his mouth. And the younger brother of major leaguers J.D. and Tim turns to only a few for friendship away from the ballpark.

“He’s just a good guy who enjoys the game and enjoys people, but doesn’t socialize with anybody but his girlfriend and family,” FSU coach Mike Martin said. “That’s just the way he is.”

It was also the way of his brother J.D., Baseball America’s Player of the Year in 1997 after becoming the first player in NCAA Division I history to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a season. J.D., the oldest son and seven years older than Stephen.

“He models J.D. a lot—looks up to him,” said associate head coach Jamey Shouppe, who recruited the Drew brothers, including Tim, a Seminoles recruit who signed out of high school. “Stephen is a quiet kid. Stephen is a keep-to-himself type of guy. He’s not going to hang out. Just very similar to the way J.D. was when he was here.”

David Drew, who said he never pushed baseball on his three sons, added: “He just quietly goes about his business.”

Stephen admits to being a bit of a loner, and a bit boring.

“I’m to myself to the extent that I don’t go out after games,” Drew said. “Most of the guys, they hang out. I like hanging out with them on the field. When the game is over, I’m ready to got to bed and get up for the next day.”

Teammates don’t take it personally. They know not to mistake the Drew Way for arrogance or aloofness. New teammates may find Stephen Drew quiet but also approachable.

“He’s easy to talk to,” Florida State freshman center fielder Shane Robinson said. “He jokes around with us; gives us advice when we need it. He’s very personable.”

Shrouded In Mystery

Drew isn’t just a mystery to his coaches and teammates. Major league scouts must figure out how the talented junior can best serve them before the June draft. Is he like J.D., who in between injuries displayed flashes of power with the Cardinals before being traded to the Braves in the offseason? Or is he even more valuable for his glove and speed than his talented big brother?

Even the Seminoles coaches aren’t sure and have been tinkering with Stephen Drew’s role. They want to place greater emphasis on speed than power as they enter the most challenging season in years for Florida State baseball. The Seminoles, ranked in the preseason outside the top 10 for just the fifth time since Baseball America’s rankings began in 1981, lost four starting pitchers, their top closer and four position starters who helped fuel the offense a year ago.

Florida State must get the most out of Drew now. The Hahira, Ga., native is certain to leave after this season for professional baseball; he ranks as the No. 5 college prospect overall and second among position players. To that end, Florida State coaches believe they have a responsibility to their best player.

“Part of the job in coaching is you want to make sure that your guys, when they go out of here, are prepared for professional baseball,” Shouppe said.

And Martin and his staff believe that this Drew will best fit the next level with an even greater emphasis on his speed.

“I think Stephen is a guy who is going to hit 20-25 home runs in the major leagues, but he is not going to be a guy that’s an Alex Rodriguez who will hit 50 home runs,” Martin said. “Stephen is of great value to his teams in ways that Rodriguez might not be—for example, his speed. He’ll steal a base in a heartbeat and contributes more in that respect more so than some other great shortstops. This guy has tremendous range and he’s a great talent . . . he’s just a different individual.

“We just want him to take advantage of his speed, and we want to try to prepare him for what his role will be in professional baseball. I think that is one in which he beats people with his glove and his legs more than he does.”

Drew stole 33 bases last season after stealing just 13 during his injury-hampered 2002 season, which included a broken foot.

“Certainly, his bat will keep him in the lineup (in professional baseball),” Shouppe said. “He’s not a bad hitter, but I think where he stands out from the other guys is he’s a bigger kid that can play the infield and he does need to utilize his speed a lot more.”

Wait Just One Minute

For his part, Drew hasn’t seemed to fully embrace the approach. He will likely be used in the No. 2 spot in the lineup, and sees a continued opportunity to provide some pop in the lineup. Drew finished third on the team in batting during a .327-11-59 season last year, but his production was down from his freshman season (.402-16-54). Drew slugged .750 as a freshman but just .582 as a sophomore.

“Power, I have it. Last year was a little bit different,” Drew said. “I can’t read the future. You just go out there and work hard. I do have some speed, and I can hit it well also.”

His father David remembers talking to coach Martin following fall practice of his freshman year. Martin praised Stephen for his defensive play and suggested he would have something special if he could do that well at the plate.

“I just laughed,” David Drew said. “I knew what his bat could do . . . He’s a hitting machine, that’s what he is. He studies pitchers. That comes from an early age. From the time he was three or four years old, he’s the only kid I’ve ever seen that age who would sit in front of a television set on Saturday and watch a whole game of the week.”

Injuries, though not to the degree that they have dogged brother J.D., have hampered Stephen’s Florida State career. He missed 28 games as a freshman after he broke his foot at Hawaii in a season-opening trip. He started in 65 of 68 games last season but pulled his right hamstring against Texas in the 2003 super-regional. That kept him out of the series’ final game, and then he raised the eyebrows of major league scouts when he passed on summer ball altogether for the second straight year to rehabilitate his hamstring. (In 2002, Drew missed the summer after having the pin in his broken foot removed.)

Even Martin wishes his top player would have been able to use the summer to play more baseball. “He wasn’t 100 percent and he could have run the risk of messing it up more,” Martin said.

Drew, who did his rehabilitation in Atlanta, said he wanted to participate in the Cape Cod League.

“It was disappointing,” Drew said. “Cape Cod would have been a great experience. But you got to be healthy before I can play. I just have to take care of myself.”

The junior shortstop missed five practices due to another hamstring injury during the preseason. Drew dismissed it as no big deal.

“My hamstrings are fine now, and they were fine throughout the entire year until it rained (against) Texas,” Drew said. “There was a puddle right by short where I play, and it was just one of those plays. I was trying to go to third on that play, and I saw I couldn’t go and tried to stop.”

The importance of a healthy Drew goes beyond what his defensive and offensive contributions mean to the Seminoles. This is a team that welcomes 16 newcomers, and Drew, despite his quiet ways, must provide leadership. And he provides it in a predictable fashion.

“I don’t chew people out on the field,” Drew said. “If I’ve got something to say, I’ll say it in the dugout very quietly. I don’t rah-rah and do all that other stuff. If they need help, I’ll help them out. I’ll be a quiet leader; people come up to me and just ask questions.”

“The thing we’ve been pleased with him as a staff is his leadership,” assistant coach Mike Martin Jr. said. “He’s stepped up his leadership. He understands that there are a lot of young people out here watching every move he makes.”

And it’s not just young Seminoles who will be watching Drew during his most important season. Florida State fans will be looking for him to propel Florida State into the NCAA postseason for the 27th consecutive season. And major league clubs will keep close tabs, as if there wasn’t already enough pressure on him.

“With the name Drew, coming to Florida State with two brothers in the big leagues, I’m sure he puts unfairly on his self a lot of pressure,” Shouppe said. “I imagine it’s tough being Stephen Drew in college.”