When you look at Julius Thomas resume, you see that he played 4 years of basketball at Portland State and only one year of football. He didn't play football between a HS freshmen and his senior college year. Yes, it was one game.
But then we have Jimmy Graham who played basketball at U of Miami for four years and only played football one year.
Antonio Gates (in his prime was a monster) originally wanted to play both basketball and football at Michigan St. He later transferred to Kent State IIRC to play basketball and was picked up by San Diego as an undrafted free agent.
Tony Gonzalez played basketball at Cal.
Obviously their QBs have a lot to do with their success, but my question is does a basketball background translate to a higher upside as a TE? It's difficult to catch a basketball pass in the paint - the court is much more condensed than football but it means you need to have great hands.
Anything to see here or am I selectively picking some TEs while ignoring others (Gronkowski played HS basketball but not college I.e.)
But then we have Jimmy Graham who played basketball at U of Miami for four years and only played football one year.
Antonio Gates (in his prime was a monster) originally wanted to play both basketball and football at Michigan St. He later transferred to Kent State IIRC to play basketball and was picked up by San Diego as an undrafted free agent.
Tony Gonzalez played basketball at Cal.
Obviously their QBs have a lot to do with their success, but my question is does a basketball background translate to a higher upside as a TE? It's difficult to catch a basketball pass in the paint - the court is much more condensed than football but it means you need to have great hands.
Anything to see here or am I selectively picking some TEs while ignoring others (Gronkowski played HS basketball but not college I.e.)
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