Panthers Sign Ex-NCAA Basketball Center Who Has Never Played Football to Be Tight End

Carolina is taking a fun gamble with this move.

The Carolina Panthers have signed a former college basketball player who has never played football. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to find talent, as they proved this week.

The Panthers announced on Monday the signing of Colin Granger. Granger played college basketball for the past five years and has, apparently, never played football; per the team release, this is "Granger's first foray into football."

Granger, who stands at 6'9", started his career at Ohio University in 2020. He played in 25 games over two seasons with the Bobcats before transferring to Western Carolina for the next two years. Granger then spent his graduate year with Coastal Carolina this past season, where he put forth his most productive season; he averaged 7.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game for the Chanticleers.

It is obviously a big bet on Granger's sheer athleticism. There's a surprisingly rich history of former college basketball stars successfully transitioning to play tight end in the NFL, with the prime examples being Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates. However, Gonzalez at least played football in college, while Gates played in high school and was initially recruited to play football by Nick Saban at Michigan State. Granger's complete lack of experience makes him an outlier.

An intriguing bet by the Panthers.

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