The NFL has a lot of unique stories of how players carve their journeys through the gridiron from their youth, high school, and collegiate careers, to playing in one of the most intense leagues, with the best of the best. However, some guys have had their sports journeys go through the hardwood of a basketball court and played college basketball before making a career change to become football players in the NFL. Here at TPS, we’re going to highlight ten of those guys.
Here are 10 NFL players who played college basketball:
Which NFL players also played basketball at a college level?
Antonio Gates
Gates is a future Hall of Fame tight end, who spent his whole football career with the San Diego/ Los Angeles Chargers. Before Gates laced up the cleats, he was a basketball star at Kent State University. Even before Gates became a star for the Golden Flashes, he originally enrolled at Michigan State University, where he wanted to play both football and basketball, under Nick Saban and Tom Izzo. However, Saban wanted Gates to only play football. Gates then transferred over to Eastern Michigan University, where he played half a season before transferring to the College of the Sequoias. While playing for the Sequoia Giants, Gates was recruited by Stan Heath to take his talents to Kent State.
As a Golden Flash, Gates averaged 18.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. Gates helped the Golden Flash reach the 2002 NCAA Tournament, as a 10-seed, where they made a run to the Elite Eight before losing to the five-seeded Indiana Hoosiers. After being told by NBA scouts he was too much of a “tweener” to make the NBA, Gates entered into football tryouts, which attracted 19 teams, and the rest became history. Gates led the NFL in receptions for tights, twice in his career (2005 and 2009). Quite an impressive résumé for the future Hall of Famer!
Julius Peppers
Before Peppers was causing offensive playmakers nightmares in the NFL, he was a dual sport athlete, while at the University of North Carolina. Peppers played defensive end for the Tar Heels, and caused havoc, as he earned All-First-Team-ACC Honors. Peppers was also a walk-on for the UNC Tar Heels basketball team. Peppers was a reserve on the Tar Heels team that reached the 2000 Final Four before getting crushed by the one-seeded Florida Gators in a 59-71 loss. Peppers was teammates with Ronald Curry, who became a backup quarterback/ wide receiver in the NFL and future NBA champion, with the Dallas Mavericks Brendan Haywood.
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In the 2001 NCAA Tournament, Peppers had more playing time in the Tar Heels’ Round of 32 loss to Penn State. Peppers scored 21 points and 10 rebounds. After that loss, Peppers decided to focus only on football. As a result, Peppers was the second pick in the 2002 NFL Draft and made a Hall of Fame career for himself, during his time with the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, and Green Bay Packers, respectively. Hats off to you Mr. Peppers, for your valiant efforts on the court and with your NFL career!
Jimmy Graham
After overcoming a tough upbringing as a child, Graham became a high school basketball star at Community Christian High School and Charis Prep in North Carolina. Graham took his hoop talents to the University of Miami. Graham and the Hurricanes reached the NCAA Tournament in 2008 before getting knocked out by Texas in the Round of 32. Graham averaged 4.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists, and 0.5 steals per game as a Hurricane. Graham stuck around the University of Miami to take graduate classes and played tight end for the Hurricanes.
Graham caught 17 receptions for 213 yards and scored five touchdowns during his lone season with the Hurricanes. Graham was drafted 95th overall in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints and immediately became one of Drew Brees’ reliable pass catchers. On top of that, Graham became a five-time Pro Bowler, as a tight end. Graham has had stints with the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and a second stint with the Saints during the 2023 season. We tip our hats to Graham for having one heck of a career change that not many NFL players can do!
Quinten Rollins
Rollins is a former cornerback, who had a brief career in the NFL with stints with the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals, and San Francisco 49ers before he was released ahead of the start of the 2019 season. Before that, Rollins was a guard at Miami University of Ohio for four years. Unfortunately, none of the RedHawks teams Rollins was on made it to the NCAA Tournament. The 2011 Miami RedHawks did reach the College Basketball Invitational in 2011, where they lost to the Rhode Island Rams in the First Round. Rollins averaged 6.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, during his time as a RedHawk on the court.
Just like Jimmy Graham, Rollins played one year of football for the RedHawks in 2014. Unlike Graham, Rollins played cornerback. He played in 12 games and had 72 tackles, nine pass deflections, seven interceptions, a pick-six, and a forced fumble. Rollins was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft and was the highest-selected RedHawk taken in the NFL draft since Ben Roethlisberger back in 2004. Unfortunately, injuries impacted Rollins’ performance in the NFL, as he spent three seasons with the Packers, before having short stints with the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers until he was out of the league by 2019.
Julius Thomas
Thomas is a former tight end who was one of Peyton Manning’s reliable passing targets in the Denver Broncos offense during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Before that, Thomas began his collegiate career at Portland State University, where he excelled in basketball. Thomas did help the Portland State Vikings reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time during the 2008 season before they were knocked out by the one-seeded Kansas State Wildcats 61-85. Thomas and the Vikings returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2009 but were knocked out by four-seeded Xaiver 59-77. Thomas averaged 6.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game as a Portland State Viking. During the 2010 season, Thomas played one season of football for the Vikings football team.
He caught 29 receptions for 453 yards and scored two touchdowns during his lone football season. Thomas was drafted 129th overall in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, by the Broncos, but didn’t see much action during his first two seasons in the league. It wasn’t until 2013 that he became a great pass catcher, where he had 65 receptions for 788 yards and scored 12 touchdowns thanks to Peyton Manning being his quarterback. Thomas also made two Pro Bowls during his time as a Bronco. Thomas bounced around the NFL with stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins. Thomas retired from playing football in 2018, to pursue a doctorate in psychology. Now that’s what we call a wild and exciting career path for Mr. Thomas.
Darren Fells
Fells has a fascinating story. He never played college football during his time at the University of California Irvine, since they don’t have football as a sport. Instead, he played college basketball, for the Anteaters. Fells’ teams never made it to the NCAA Tournament, but he did have two great junior and senior seasons. Fells averaged 10.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game during his four seasons, as an Anteater. Fells played basketball professionally in Europe and Argentina between 2008 and 2012. Fells played for the Leuven Bears in Belgium from 2008-09, Kataja Basketball Club in Finland from 09-10, Étendard de Brest in France from 2010-11, and Fells played with the Obras Sanitarias for nine games in Argentina.
Fells averaged 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, during his time with the Kataja Basketball Club. Fells switched sports in 2013 when he signed with the Seattle Seahawks, as an undrafted free agent. He was released before the start of the season and then joined the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. Fells got playing time with the Cardinals in 2014 where he got five receptions for 71 yards. Fells also had stints with the NFL’s Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, and Houston Texans as one of their players. Fells’ best season came in 2019 with the Texans where he caught 34 receptions for 341 yards and scored seven touchdowns. Fells had a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad but hasn’t been on a roster since 2022. From a career of professional basketball abroad to playing in the NFL, that’s an incredible career.
Tony Gonzalez
Before Gonzalez became a Hall of Fame tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons, he was a dual sport athlete at the University of California Berkeley, playing both football and basketball. Gonzalez helped the Golden Bears reach the 1996 Aloha Bowl but fell to the Navy Midshipmen 38-42. Gonzalez had 89 receptions for 1,302 yards and scored eight touchdowns during his three seasons with Cal.
On the basketball court, Gonzalez helped the Golden Bears reach the Sweet 16 of the 1997 NCAA Tournament before they were knocked out by North Carolina 57-63. Gonzalez scored 6.4 points and 4.34 rebounds per game during his three seasons on the Golden Bears basketball team. As we all know, Gonzalez was drafted by the Chiefs with the 13th pick of the 1997 NFL Draft, and the rest is history for the Hall of Fame tight end!
Antwaan Randle El
Randle El is remembered as the former Indiana Hoosiers quarterback turned wide receiver in the NFL, who had an amazing trick play for the Pittsburgh Steelers as they won Super Bowl 40, 21-10 against the Seattle Seahawks. However, not a lot of people know that Randle El not only played football at Indiana but was also on the Hoosiers basketball team. After the football season concluded, Randle El took his talents to the basketball court and played under Hall of Fame coach, Bob Knight.
Randle El didn’t play much during his time on the Hoosiers basketball team, as he averaged 1.5 points, 0.7 rebounds, and one assist per game in 11 games at the time. Randle El did help the Hoosiers reach the 1999 NCAA Tournament until they lost to St. Johns, 61-86, in the Round of 32. Needless to say, Randle El stuck with football and had a memorable career in the NFL. Randle El is currently a wide receivers coach for the Detroit Lions as they look to have a very strong 2024 season, with Randle El coaching Amon-Ra St. Brown and the rest of the Lions’ receiving core.
Connor Barwin
Barwin is a former linebacker who spent 10 seasons with the NFL, with the Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, and New York Giants. Barwin’s most memorable season came in 2014 when he made his only Pro Bowl, with the Eagles. During that season, Barwin had 64 tackles, 14.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. Before Barwin became a reliable linebacker in the NFL, he was a Cincinnati Bearcat, playing in two sports: Football and Basketball.
Barwin’s time with the Bearcats basketball team was short, but he did play in 18 games as a backup forward, where he averaged 9.9 minutes per game after injuries affected the Bearcats in the 2005-06 season. Barwin played two seasons with the Bearcats, where he averaged 1.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.2 assists per game, on the basketball court. Luckily for Barwin, he shined brightly on the football field.
Donovan McNabb
Before there were players like Carson Wentz, Nick Foles, or Jalen Hurts, the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles had Donovan McNabb, who was a six-time Pro Bowl quarterback, for the team. McNabb also led the Eagles to Super Bowl 39, where they narrowly lost 21-24 to the New England Patriots. Before McNabb had a great career in the NFL. He was a star quarterback for the Syracuse Orange. During his time at Syracuse, McNabb was also a walk-on for the Syracuse Orange basketball team, where he played two seasons under Jim Boeheim.
McNabb and the Orange reached the 1996 NCAA National Championship but lost to Kentucky 67-76. McNabb averaged 2.3 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game during his two seasons on the Syracuse basketball team. Luckily, McNabb stuck with football and had a very memorable career after his start in the NFL, and the rest became history!
