NFL draft prospect, Senquez Golson, was nearly a Red Sox outfielder

When the NFL Draft is held later this year, Senquez Golson's name will likely be called in the third to fourth round. But in an alternate reality, Golson could have been the Red Sox center fielder.

Coming out of high school, Golson was a first team All-American with "elite bat speed" that put him just outside the top 100 draft prospects in 2011. That led Boston to draft him in the 8th round and offer him over $1 million in hopes of getting the athlete's signature. Instead he opted to join the Ole Miss football and baseball program. 

After playing one year of college baseball, Golson focused his effort on the gridiron. The outfielder-turned-defensive back swiped 16 interceptions in his career, with 10 last season, before putting up a 4.46 40 yard dash time at the NFL Combine. 

Senquez Golson turned down $1.4M from the Red Sox to play college football. He just ran 4.46u http://t.co/nsTgH2PdsG pic.twitter.com/5hX5tD2Iqx

- NFL (@nfl) February 23, 2015

Of course, should Golson decide that he wants to get back into baseball, there's some precedent for defensive backs/outfielders. Brian Jordan split time between safety and the outfield, knocking out 184 home runs over a 15-year career. And who doesn't remember when Deion Sanders stole 56 bases with the Reds in 1997 -- while also playing for the Dallas Cowboys?

Or the time when another NFL/MLB star, Bo Jackson, missed a diving catch, and Neon Deion sprinted around the bases for an inside the park home run?