UConn forward Nelson gets his shot, signs with Rams

STORRS, Conn. -- Connecticut basketball player Ed Nelson signed a two-year, free-agent deal with the St. Louis Rams on Sunday following the NFL Draft.

"I didn't think I'd get drafted," said Nelson, expected to play tight end. "It's risky for a team to draft me, but a lot of teams know my potential."

Nelson, a 6-foot-8, 265-pound senior power forward, hasn't played football since his freshman year of high school.

Nelson, from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., played 29 games as a reserve for the UConn basketball team after transferring from Georgia Tech, where he was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2001-02. He averaged three points and three rebounds at Connecticut.

At St. Thomas Aquinas High School, he averaged 26 points and 11 rebounds in his senior year and led the team to the Class 5A state title. He was named Florida Player of the Year for Class 6A-5A-4A by the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.

Nelson will graduate from Connecticut this weekend.

"It's a pretty big weekend," he said.