[Notre Dame News]

VERO BEACH — Former Notre Dame standout football player Jeff Samardzija said he isn't missing the 40-degree starts to the season in Indiana.

He's settled into the sunny life in Daytona Beach for the moment while he gains experience as a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs' Single-A affiliate, the Daytona Cubs. On Wednesday night, he traveled with his team to play the Vero Beach Devil Rays.

The outing was not his best. As the starting pitcher, he allowed nine hits and four earned runs in his 6 1/3 innings of work and took the loss as the Devil Rays won 5-1. In only his eighth game as a professional, however, the Cubs will give him the time he needs to develop into the talent that earned him $16.5 million guaranteed over five years — a deal that his agent, Palm City sports agent Mark Rodgers, helped broker.
Samardzija, in turn, committed to baseball and set aside a career in football that many Fighting Irish fans hoped he would pursue. At Notre Dame, he was the team's go-to receiver, catching 78 passes for 1,017 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior in 2006.

"My decision was pretty simple. Baseball was what I wanted to do the rest of my life," Samardzija said Wednesday after running through postgame stretches.

TCPalm: Pro Baseball