Pete Jensen knew a can’t-miss major-league prospect when he saw one.

At Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif., he'd coached an infielder named Gregg Jefferies, who became a first-round pick and one of the most highly anticipated call-ups in Mets history. He had also coached a left-handed pitcher named Dan Serafini, who was a first-round pick of the Minnesota Twins, and a right-hander named Scott Chiamparino, who was taken in the fourth round by the Oakland A's.

When he was the junior varsity coach, Jensen was around a pretty solid all-around player, a lefty-hitting outfielder with speed and power. Kid’s name was Barry Bonds.

But there was this other player, a big, 6-4, 200-pound, lefty-hitting catcher, who, in Jensen’s eyes, stood out above the rest. The player’s name was Tom Brady.

Yes, that Tom Brady. The one who is going to be shooting for football immortality and a fourth Super Bowl championship Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.

Seventeen years ago, Brady was a good enough baseball player that his old high school coach wondered to himself if he was making a bad decision choosing football. It’s a game of “what if” the 2001 St. Louis Rams, the 2003 Carolina Panthers and the 2004 Philadelphia Eagles would probably prefer not to play.

“I remember after he won his first Super Bowl,” says John Hughes, a baseball scout who tried to get Brady to sign with the Montreal Expos out of high school. “I was with some buddies and I said, ‘Man, I could’ve ruined this guy’s career if I’d only tried harder.’ ”

Truth is, Hughes tried pretty hard to sign Brady. And with good reason.

“I thought Tommy was a sure thing as a baseball player,” said Jensen, who retired from coaching in 2009, after 24 years, but still teaches architectural design at Serra High. “Even more a sure thing than Gregg or Barry, believe it or not. As good a football player as he was, I thought he was a better baseball player in high school.”

In the spring of 1995, when scouts started coming around mostly to see an outfielder named Greg Millichap, Jensen could hear them chattering behind the backstop during infield practice about his catcher. “He could really catch and throw,” said Jensen. “I was a part-time scout with the Mariners. So, prior to the June draft, I took Tommy to a pre-draft workout at the Kingdome with a bunch of other prospects. He put on a show. He hit two or three balls out in batting practice with a wood bat and was probably the best-throwing guy there. But everybody knew by then he was going to Michigan.”

That did not keep the Montreal Expos, on Hughes’ recommendation, from taking Brady in the 18th round, with the 507th overall pick. “Obviously, a great-looking kid,” recalled Hughes, now a Marlins scout in Northern California. “Athletic, with a really good swing and an accurate arm. You looked at him and there was no doubt, really. You thought, ‘This kid’s got quite a future in the game.’ He was superior for his level, but there were things for him to grow into. He was what we call ‘a project-able player.’ ”

What’s funny now is that Brady was not project-able as an NFL quarterback. Having committed to Michigan, where he initially thought he was going to play both baseball and football, there was a chance he was not ever going to be a starter for the Wolverines. When he reported to Ann Arbor, legend says Brady was seventh on the depth chart.

In the summer after Brady’s senior year of high school, Hughes kept an ongoing dialogue with Brady and his parents. “Where we took him in the draft was not indicative of his talent,” recalls Hughes. “Everyone knew, with the commitment to Michigan to play football, he’d be tough to sign. We were certainly willing to pay him a lot more than a typical 18th-round pick, but we still knew it would be tough. With that said, the summer I spent with Tom and his family was the most enjoyable time I’ve ever had not signing a guy. His dad, Tom Sr., was great to deal with. They are just wonderful people.”

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In what was Hughes’ last, best pitch to sign Brady, he met him at Candlestick Park when the Montreal Expos were playing the San Francisco Giants, put him in an Expos uniform, and introduced him to Rondell White and F.P. Santangelo, who led him onto the field to take batting practice. Hughes was hoping this would be the type of experience to change his mind.

But when he went into the clubhouse a little while later, what Hughes saw pretty much convinced him there was no shot. “Tom was sitting on a stool in the clubhouse,” Hughes recalled with a laugh. “And he was surrounded by guys from the team. And Tom was holding court. They all wanted to talk to him about playing quarterback in the Big House for Michigan. Guys were like, ‘You can’t pass that up for baseball.’ ”

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Jensen says the idea of playing two sports at Michigan quickly faded. Lloyd Carr, who had been Michigan’s recruiting coordinator, became the head coach and told Brady there would be no missing spring practice. “I do remember him saying, when he was going into his final year, that he might give it a try,” said Jensen. “But then he went to the combine.”

In the 2000 NFL Draft, Brady was selected in the sixth round, which is roughly the equivalent of being taken in the 18th round of the MLB Draft. Maybe worse. At that point his high school coach and the scout who tried to sign him both wondered what might have been if he’d chosen baseball over football. “I just remember how he looked so comfortable in a big-league clubhouse,” said Hughes. “To this day he’s the most impressive young man I’ve ever been around at the high school level. He had it all.”

“Tommy’s makeup is second to none,” said Jensen. “So I knew he was going to succeed at something. But I can’t say I saw this coming in football. I won’t say I’m surprised he made it, but to get to get to the level where he is now, you could never predict that.”

A can’t-miss kid he was not. Not in football, anyway.

Jeff Bradley: jbradley@starledger.com; twitter.com/JerseyJBradley

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