Inside The Bears

Baylor seeking to add former pro basketball player to football team

The former pro hooper had an unorthodox way of getting into the college football game.
Trent Knoop|
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The Baylor Bears have 17 commitments in the 2026 recruiting cycle and after most recently re-flipping RB Ryelan Morris away from Stanford -- who was a previous Baylor commit -- the Bears are back on the cusp of being a top-25 recruiting class.

While the Bears still have to work on keeping their 2025 commits intact with big-time programs chasing after the top-end commits, Baylor is also working on adding to its class.

One player the Bears are chasing is a former professional basketball player. TE Nathaniel Salmon announced a top-five list and Baylor made the cut. The Bears will be competing with Utah, Arizona State, Arizona, and West Virginia to get Salmon on their roster.

Salmon's unorthodox path to college football

Salmon was a professional basketball player, who found his way onto the football field. He played pro basketball since he was 17 years old in both New Zealand and Australia, but then decided he wanted to take a different path.

He began playing football in late 2024 and Salmon went on the NFL International Player Pathway at the beginning of this year. He was invited to the Los Angeles Chargers’ mini-camp, but was not signed.

He figured out college football was still an option and had to go through the NCAA Clearinghouse, where he was granted four years of eligibility,

Baylor would go on to offer Salmon back on Nov. 5, but the Bears have yet to set up an official visit with Salmon. Instead, both Utah and Arizona State have visits lined up with the former pro hooper.

Salmon is listed at 6-foot-6, 270-pounds and isn't ranked on 247Sports. However, he is brand new to the sport and is extremely athletic, playing pro basketball. The Bears enjoy using their tight ends -- see Michael Trigg -- and getting Salmon would be a fun project for the Baylor offense.

Salmon told Rivals he has never been to a football game, but he does have some familiarity to the sport. His sister played basketball at BYU and his brother-in-law played at Utah.

“I’m thankful for what football has done for me,” Salmon told Rivals. “It’s done way more than basketball has ever done for me even though I’ve been loyal to it my whole life.”

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP

Trent is the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI and also serves as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines on SI. His work has additionally been featured on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.

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