Former NFL head coach calls for league to recruit Florida Gators basketball star to make the switch to football
Over the course of the last 30 years, we've seen a lot of former college basketball players make the change to play in the National Football League. Julius Peppers, Tony Gonzalez, and Antonio Gates have all been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Others have found a lot of success as well, with […]
Over the course of the last 30 years, we've seen a lot of former college basketball players make the change to play in the National Football League. Julius Peppers, Tony Gonzalez, and Antonio Gates have all been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Others have found a lot of success as well, with Jimmy Graham and Mo Allie-Cox seeing a lot of success as well. There is a common theme with those players: with the exception of Peppers (who also played college football at North Carolina), they are all tight ends.
Jay Gruden calls for NFL to sign Alijah Martin
It's not very common to see college basketball players in college make the transition to the NFL. Greg Paulus tried his hand at quarterback at Syracuse after four years of playing point guard for Duke. It's a rarity.
One player that has gotten the attention of former Washington Commanders head coach Jay Gruden is Florida Gators starting guard Alijah Martin, with Gruden seeing the athleticism and ball skills being able to translate to the gridiron.
The really interesting thing here with Martin is saying that Gruden would be a safety. It would be an interesting spot for him, especially with his vision and explosiveness. The interesting thing was that Martin was a former three-star quarterback in high school.
Watching Martin play quarterback in high school, even just the highlights, gives some credence to Gruden's take that he could play safety. He has the size at 6'-2 and 210 lbs, plus his athleticism pops off on both the football and basketball tapes.
Would Martin entertain that option? Who really knows if he would, but it would be fun. Martin is out of eligibility after the season, spending his final seasons of eligibility with the Gators after helping Florida Atlantic to the Final Four two years ago.
If he really wants to, I bet someone would end up giving him a chance in rookie minicamp to see if he is worth bringing in for training camp.
For now, Martin has the Elite Eight to prepare for against Texas Tech on Saturday night.
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