Ranking 5 Best NFL Stars Who Also Played In The NCAA Tournament
24/03/2024 03:43
The NCAA Tournament is underway and while tons of great athletes will be playing, only a select few will be able to take their skills to the pro level, let alone play for a long time.
But there's an outside chance that a few of them could pursue a different professional league entirely: The National Football League.
Though rare, it wouldn't be unprecedented as the five players we're counting down in this list proved.
Here are the five greatest NFL players to have played in the NCAA Tournament:
5. Jimmy Graham - Miami (FL)
At 6-foot-7, Graham towered over college basketball point guards and many NFL linebackers and defensive backs. Before playing one season at tight end for the Hurricanes, he was a four-year player forward for the basketball team, appearing in 115 games and the 2008 NCAA Tournament against Saint Mary's and Texas.
But Graham decided to parlay his basketball skill into football and despite playing in just 13 games of college football, the New Orleans Saints made him a third-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He went on to make five Pro Bowls, two All-Pro selections and was the NFL's leader in receiving touchdowns in 2013.
4. Donovan McNabb - Syracuse
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.
Before he was a Pro Bowl quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and while he was an All-Big East star under Paul Pasqualoni, Donovan McNabb rode the pine for Jim Boeheim as a preferred walk-on.
He was a reserve player for two of his five years in college but saw 11 minutes of action during the 1996 NCAA Tournament in wins over Montana State and Georgia. The Orange would go on to finish as runner-ups in the whole thing that year.
In the NFL, McNabb would lead the Eagles to multiple NFC Championship Games, a Super Bowl and became one of the most decorated players in team history.
3. Antonio Gates - Kent State
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images.
Antonio Gates is the only player on this list who went undrafted because he did not play any college football. Gates initially played at Eastern Michigan before transferring to Kent State and becoming a star for the Golden Flashes.
In his first year with the team, he averaged 16 points per game and helped the team reach the Elite Eight for the first time in program history. The year after, he earned an All-American honorable mention after averaging over 20 points per game.
But the professional basketball ranks were not an option for Gates, so he tried out for the NFL and found his niche with the San Diego Chargers. He wound up playing 16 seasons for the team, making eight Pro Bowls and six All-Pro selections. He was named to the 2010s All-Decade Team.
2. Julius Peppers - North Carolina
One of the greatest pass rushers of all-time, Peppers was a dominant force at pass rusher for the Tar Heels football team and a walk-on for their basketball team. He was only a reserve on UNC's basketball team when they reached the Final Four in the 2000 NCAA Tournament but still got over 100 minutes and scored 29 points in that tournament.
Peppers was a starter the following year and scored 33 points in two games before the Tar Heels bowed in the Round of 32.
After the 2001 NCAA Tournament, Peppers decided to focus on football and went on to become a Hall of Fame pass rusher with 159.5 career sacks and countless honors.
1. Tony Gonzalez - California
The greatest tight end in NFL history was also a star forward for the California Golden Bears in the mid-90s, helping the team to back-to-back big dance appearances and put up 23 points in an upset win over No. 20 Villanova in the 1997 NCAA Tournament.
Tony Gonzalez admittedly had a tough time picking between which of the two sports to pursue full-time, but the results speak for themselves. He is now the most decorated tight end in NFL history with the most receptions and receiving yards by any tight end.
