Dolphins Pick Up Basketball Player

The Miami Dolphins signed former college basketball player Jibri Blount to play tight end

The Miami Dolphins announced two roster moves Thursday afternoon, one of which was the formal release of veteran safety Bobby McCain.

The other one move wasn't nearly as significant on the surface, though it certainly was quite interesting.

The Dolphins signed Jibri Blount from North Carolina Central as an undrafted free agent.

Beyond the fact that Blount is the son of Hall of Famer Mel Blount, the move is interesting because Jibri Blount didn't play a down of college football. It was in basketball that Blount excelled at North Carolina Central, as he was named the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Player of the Year in 2019-20.

Blount was a 6-7, 230-pound forward in basketball and the Dolphins listed him as a tight end on the official press release announcing his signing.

It's the kind of transformation that's worked out very well for previous basketball stars, starting with Antonio Gates and including Jimmy Graham from the University of Miami.

The Dolphins went that route before — in 2012, to be precise — when they signed Les Brown out of BYU after he had played basketball in college. This was the year the Dolphins were featured on "Hard Knocks" and Brown's background made him one of the storylines on the show that summer.

But Brown's journey with the Dolphins ended up rather quickly, as he was was waived Aug. 23 of that year.

Blount will join a crowded tight end room, that includes 2021 third-round pick Hunter Long, along with fourth-year players Mike Gesicki and Durham Smythe, as well as Adam Shaheen and Chris Myarick.

Interestingly enough, Blount is the second son of the former great Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback to sign with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent.

Akil Blount was a linebacker at Florida A&M before signing with the Dolphins in 2016. He was waived in late August that year and next played a down in the NFL.