Colts make a roster move to try to find the next Antonio Gates or Jimmy Graham, and he will already have a great teacher in Indy
Colts are hoping they found the next college basketball to NFL tight end success story.
The Indianapolis Colts have never been shy to take a flyer on a high upside player that presents little to no risk if he doesn’t work out.
One example of this would be the popular “convert a college basketball player to tight end” signing. They’ve had success with this type of move before, but they’ve also had multiple players who don’t amount to anything in the NFL.
Well, they are officially trying it again by signing Carson Towt, a five-year college basketball player, most recently at Notre Dame, where he will try to make the team’s roster as a tight end.
Colts sign Notre Dame basketball player Carson Towt
“After spending the first five years playing at Northwen Arizona, Towt capitalized on a redshirt and COVID year to spend his final year with Notre Dame in 2025. During that lone year with the Fighting Irish, Towt started all 31 games, averaging 5.9 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.
At 6-8 and 250 pounds, Towt is a big body with strong hands to rebound through contact. While he has never played football before, Towt began generating interest when he attended the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this draft season. Towt isn’t known for being an explosive athlete, but that big frame and hands are an intriguing combination. He seems like a long shot, but it’ll be interesting to watch.” – Ryan Roberts, A to Z Sports Notre Dame
The Colts once signed a guy named Mo Alie-Cox, fresh off a college basketball career at VCU. He has turned that opportunity into an eight-year career with the Colts and is going into his ninth year after re-signing with the team in free agency.
Can the Colts turn a college basketball player into an impactful TE again?
Alie-Cox was a four-year player at VCU and finished his career averaging 7.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Towt just finished up a five-year college career where he averaged 9.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. His ability to fight for rebounds and come down with the ball likely stands out as a trait they’d like to use to help him develop into a contested-catch winner at the pro level.
Learning from Alie-Cox and how he made the transition will be invaluable to Towt. He is hoping to become like Alie Cox, or, who knows, maybe even the next Jimmy Graham or Antonio Gates. And he will try not to be just another Erik Swoope, an experiment that had some upside but just never panned out.
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