Colts' Tight End Gives Tim Tebow Advice Regarding Transition To New Position
When fourth-year Indianapolis Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox made his transition from basketball to football coming out of Virginia Commonwealth University, he had mentors to turn to who made the same transition he was about to embark on.
Guys like Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, and Jimmy Graham had previously made the move from basketball to football, so Alie-Cox had tape on guys who had previously done it.
Now, Alie-Cox is trying to play the role of mentor, providing some advice to new Jacksonville Jaguars' tight end Tim Tebow, via TMZ.
Alie-Cox, who was interviewed on TMZ Saturday, said that Tebow has to be open to learning the new position. While Tebow knows the game overall, having starred at Florida before being a first-round pick by the Denver Browns, his transition to tight end comes nearly eight years after his last NFL snap, which came as a quarterback.
"The tight end position, you have to learn how to block," Alie-Cox said. "You have to catch passes. The protection — the little things like that. So, it's a lot that goes into it. It's a lot of mental."
While Alie-Cox was always a strong athlete in the NFL and a natural pass catcher, his biggest development has come as a blocker, an area in which he posted career high grades (via Pro Football Focus) as a run blocker and pass blocker.
Though Alie-Cox knows Tebow is in for quite a transition, he believes the former Heisman winner and minor league baseball player can handle it.
"He hasn't played the position but I mean, he's a hard worker," Alie-Cox said. "You can't put anything past Tim Tebow. I think he's got it."
It will be interested to see how Tebow handles the move to tight end and what his role will be in 2021, should he make the 53-man roster in Jacksonville under former college head coach Urban Meyer, especially in the two upcoming matchups with the Colts and Alie-Cox later this season.
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