5 NFL players who were college basketball superstars ft. Tony Gonzalez

The NFL features some of the best athletes in the entire world. While they have chosen football to make a professional career out of, many have excelled at other sports along the way, including at the high school and college level.

Several current and former NFL players were stars in college basketball before ultimately deciding to stick with football as their professional sport. Many of these players eventually ended up becoming tight ends in the NFL, including these five examples.

#1 - Jimmy Graham

Jimmy Graham was one of the most dominant tight ends in the NFL during his time with Drew Brees for the New Orleans Saints. He was twice selected as an All-Pro. He has since played for the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, and Chicago Bears.

Graham played just one year of college football following his four-year college basketball career with the Miami Hurricanes. He appeared in 120 games for the basketball team as a forward, helping them appear in the NCAA March Madness Tournament.

#2 - Mo Alie-Cox

Mo Alie-Cox has spent his entire NFL career so far as a tight end for the Indianapolis Colts. He has mostly been a red zone specialist and used as a mismatch against smaller defenders.

He was signed as an undrafted free agent, as a speculative addition to their offense after becoming a standout college basketball player at VCU.

Did you know #Colts TE Mo Alie-Cox was a three year starter for the VCU basketball team?

Cox was one of the most feared defenders in the A-10, and helped lead VCU to three straight NCAA tournament appearances.

He destroyed my poor Umass Minutemen multiple times a year. https://t.co/cBeYPnMKbc

Alie-Cox played 142 games for VCU and was considered one of the best defensive players in the entire country. He totaled 255 blocks during his college basketball career, the second-most in school history, while averaging nearly two blocks per game. He helped VCU win one A-10 conference title and appeared in the NCAA March Madness Tournament in each of his four seasons.