At 6-foot-6, 275 pounds, Rico Gathers has been a nightmare for defenses to defend in the paint. Now he hopes to be a nightmare to defend in the red zone.
The Baylor all-conference senior forward will give the NFL a shot after this college basketball season, he told ESPN.
One of the best rebounders in college basketball (9.8 per game this season) likely will bounce from the NCAA Tournament (the Bears are ranked No. 18) to private workouts with NFL teams.
“Football has been in my heart,” said Gathers, who last played football when he was 14 years old.
But as the Scouting Combine shows, NFL teams seem to value natural ability and measurements just as much they do on-field dominance. Gathers has been a force for Baylor, powering in 12 points per game this season on mostly the low block, where he can push around smaller players.
Gathers looks to follow the same template as Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham and Julius Thomas before him — but for practical reasons as much as a love for the game.
“He’s married, has a child,” Baylor basketball coach Scott Drew said Friday, via CBS Sports. “Following the season, if it’s better he plays football, we are 100 percent behind it. If he plays basketball, we are 100 percent behind it. Most athletes dream of an opportunity to have two options. That’s the good thing about football and basketball. Tight ends, if that’s what he chooses to play, have done pretty well coming from the basketball court. Rico’s been wise about that, not closing doors on anything.”
Gathers is set to graduate in May. He would be eligible to play one postgraduate football season, but providing for his family has to come first.
“I played with the idea, but my wife and I both know the struggle of trying to provide off of one salary and keep everyone happy,” Gathers said, according to Dallas SportsDay. “We thought it would be best to get into the pros.”
And seeing as the hulking figure says he last ran the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds, NFL teams may think it’s best for him to go pro, too.