College basketball players finding future in NFL

The experts said undersized big men Rashod Kent of Rutgers and Antonio Gates of Kent State wouldn't play at the next level. The experts were right. Neither Kent nor Gates made it to the NBA.

Then again, the experts were wrong. Both reached the NFL.

Antonio Gates went from Kent State hoops to the NFL. (Getty Images)

As professional football teams continue to use tight ends to spread the field, their search for huge, agile athletes has led NFL scouts to college basketball. On Feb. 21, 2002, it led Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher to the hometown Pittsburgh Panthers' home game with Rutgers.

Cowher was looking for a tight end. He heard one was playing center for the Scarlet Knights.

"Cowher loved Rashod," Rutgers coach Gary Waters said. "He loved his size and athletic ability."

There was a lot to love. Kent was 6-foot-6, 265 pounds, with a vertical leap approaching 40 inches and his quickness, Waters said, had to be seen to be believed. And in one instance -- Kent went for a steal at midcourt, came up short, but recovered to pin the breakaway layup against the backboard -- Waters still isn't sure he can trust what he saw.

"I watched it several times on tape, and I said, 'I can't believe this,'" Waters said. "I called my staff in and said, 'You've got to watch this.'"

Before the 2002 NFL Draft, Kent had private workouts with the Steelers and New York Giants before signing a two-year free-agent contract with the Houston Texans.

Last spring it was Gates' turn. He had averaged 20.6 points and 7.7 rebounds as a senior power forward at Kent State, but at 6-4, 250 pounds, he wasn't built like a professional power forward.

He was built like a tight end.

Gates attended an Akron-area tryout for NFL scouts in April 2003, earning himself a two-year contract with the San Diego Chargers. Unlike Kent, who was released last week by the Texans without a catch in seven career NFL games, Gates became an impact player.

Described by coach Marty Schottenheimer as "green as a gourd" in the 2003 preseason, Gates finished the season third on the Chargers with 24 catches for 389 yards. And fantasy football players, take note: In the last five games, Gates had 17 catches for 284 yards, which translates to 54 catches for 909 yards over 16 games.

College basketball players making an impact in the NFL isn't a new concept, though it is unmistakably coming back into vogue. Three or four decades ago, when multi-sport college athletes weren't uncommon, the likes of Mike Ditka, Harold Carmichael and Ed "Too Tall" Jones played both sports in college before specializing in football.

The route taken by Kent and Gates -- college basketball, then professional football -- isn't entirely unique, but it's close. Longtime Dallas Cowboys running back Preston Pearson played college basketball for Illinois, averaging 8.7 points and six rebounds as a senior, before being a surprising 12th-round selection by the NFL's Baltimore Colts. Beyond Gates and Kent, there aren't a lot more examples.

Some of the NFL's best tight ends today played college basketball, including Baltimore's Todd Heap (cameo appearances at Arizona State) and Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez, who played both sports at California and competed on the Miami Heat's summer team in 2002.

Longtime NFL tight end Ricky Dudley went to Ohio State on a basketball scholarship, averaging 13.3 points and 7.5 rebounds, before joining the football team after his junior year of hoops. Two years later, Dudley was the Oakland Raiders' No. 1 pick in 1996.

That's a path Cincinnati big man Kareem Johnson is eyeing. The 6-7, 250-pound Johnson, who averaged 5.6 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Bearcats as a senior, participated in spring football drills. An athletic department spokesman said Johnson began the spring at tight end and finished at defensive end. He has one year of football eligibility.

"NFL guys are looking for big athletes with agility," Waters said. "Why not look at (college) basketball players?"

Why not start with these?