MSU's Coen Carr Reveals Wild Truth Regarding NFL

One football franchise has noticed the Spartans' basketball star.

Michigan State forward Coen Carr (55) high fives fans after 92-67 win over North Dakota State at the NCAA Tournament First Round at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Coen Carr is so athletic that at least one professional football team has been willing to give him a look.

Last week, the high-flying Michigan State basketball star appeared in an interview with "I Am Athlete" alongside host Darian Rencher. During the interview, Carr revealed that "like four" NFL teams have asked his academic advisors questions about him while on trips to see the Spartans' football team. Rencher indicated that the Chicago Bears were one of those teams.

Jul 23, 2025; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears logo sits on top of the Halas Hall ahead of training camp. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

"At the end of the day, it's another opportunity," Carr said about the NFL interest he's gotten. "That's how I look at it. At the end of the day, it's another opportunity to make millions and millions of dollars. You never know where that could take you."

Basketball doesn't completely translate into football, but you'd have to think Carr could be a pretty good tight end or wide receiver if he really worked at it. Standing at 6-foot-6 and with a 51-inch max vertical jump, Carr would be the ideal person to throw a 50-50 ball to on a fade route.

History of Football/Basketball Players

Dec 2, 2018; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Los Angeles Chargers tight end Antonio Gates (85) runs after a catch against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Chargers won 33-30. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Two all-time great tight ends also played basketball. San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers legend Antonio Gates -- whose son spent a few seasons at MSU -- played basketball at Eastern Michigan and Kent State, averaging 16.5 points per game during his college basketball career.

Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons legend Tony Gonzalez also played hoops at Cal. He averaged 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game across three collegiate seasons.

Oct 2, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Tony Gonzalez on the Prime Thursday Night Football set during the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

There's also the story of Julius Peppers, who became a great pass rusher after playing basketball at North Carolina, helping the Tar Heels reach the Final Four in 2000.

It's not always so simple, though. Draymond Green tried out for football while he was at Michigan State, participating in the Spartans' spring game. That didn't really go well. Tom Izzo also allowed football players Keon Coleman and Maliq Carr onto the basketball team in 2021-22. Coleman appeared in six games; Carr appeared in one.

Michigan State's Keon Coleman, right, drives to the basket as Michigan's Moussa Diabate defends during the second half on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Carr Could Do It

Carr doesn't seem to have any plans at the moment to go catch passes from Alessio Milivojevic for now. Alas, just having your athleticism be so off-the-charts impressive that NFL teams are asking about you as a basketball player is pretty cool.

There is some football experience in Carr's past. He says he played football from when he was five years old until he was in ninth grade, but said that "they be hitting too hard."

Michigan State's Coen Carr directs the offense against North Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI