Tight End Transformation Is Latest Trend

(Saturday, May 10, 2006)

The 2006 NFL Draft was as unpredictable as any in recent memory. The NFL shook things up, turning pre-draft projections upside down. But, hey, last-minute change-ups are what give the draft character (and a viewing audience). The biggest surprises often come in its wake. This year was no different. Like the soccer players turned kickers of yesterday, today's athlete transformation trend is basketball power forward turned tight ends. Three college basketball stars signed with the NFL, signing over rubber soles for cleats.

Players are following in the footsteps from the court to the turf of basketball turned football stars like Antonio Gates and Marcus Pollard. With similar career conversions, former Long Beach 49er forward Onye Ibekwe made the leap, but stayed a 49er. Sunday night, he signed a two-year free agent contract with San Francisco. George Mason's stand-out March Madness star Jai Lewis signed with the New York Giants post-draft also; he is likely to also play tight end or tackle. Connecticut's Ed Nelson signed a two-year free agent deal with the St. Louis Rams the following Sunday.

Nelson didn't expect to get drafted. "It's risky for a team to draft me, but a lot of teams know my potential," he said earlier this month. It has been a potential proving process for all of the players.
A couple key factors influence these players' decisions to go to the NFL instead of vying for the NBA. First, these guys have domineering physical frames and athletically versatile. The 6-foot-8, 275 pound Lewis, 6-foot-8, 265-pound Nelson, and 6-foot-8, 250 pound Ibekwe have the bulk for football brawn. That imposing physique will prove a powerful asset to each.

"I didn't want to look back thinking coulda,woulda, shoulda. It was now or never to give it my all and put myself out there."
Plus, with professional sports, it's a numbers game. There are many more times the number of positions and job opportunities available in the NFL than the NBA. Ibekwe says he thought his chances of making it in football were better. "I didn't want to look back thinking coulda,woulda, shoulda. It was now or never to give it my all and put myself out there," he says. Also, the forwards have more financial opportunity at their level of play in the NFL than the NBA.

Still, they will have to compensate lacking applied experience with grueling effort and quick learning. Could college basketball careers be extended training camps preparing players for football stardom?
Onye Ibekwe hopes so. A multi-talented player, he represents the new brand of athlete. They call him the next Antonio Gates. It is a comparison he does not shy away from because, he says, "It is flattering and inspiring to be compared to the best. Being named with Gates, who is a 'been there, done that' guy of where I want to go is as much motivation as it is a challenge."

Ibekwe hasn't played football since sophomore year of high school. But, all his practice on the court, he believes will transfer to the field. According to him, the success of guys like Antonio Gates sets a precedent. Guys like Tony Gonzales and Todd Heap, who juggled both sports and came out on top, are encouraging stories too, says Ibekwe. "Besides, football is not really foreign to me, but I had put it on hold because basketball was my first love." "I was a Power Forward. Defending the net is like man to man coverage, and my rebound skills translate into jumping high enough to intercept or catch balls and make plays. I'm used to stop and go play and having to be mentally and physically tough and resilient," he says.

Ibekwe's NBA draft prospect younger brother, Maryland Terrapin forward Ekene Ibekwe says, "Onye has the physical build and the skills he needs to dominate in the league, but all he needs is to get that game time experience. It's been a while since he's played, but I think that there are athletes that play a certain sport that are fit to play more than one—my brother realized he had the body to play football. What he did [showing up for unsolicited performances at combines] took guts and I'm proud of him. He's someone who knows what he wants and goes for it; we both know that nothing's given to you, you have to take it."

Players have historically been recruited to different positions than they played in college. Even in the league, roles are exchanged and players are expected to perform and produce in any given position. A lot of times, physical match-ups - like in basketball - are a determining factor game to game.

Ibekwe joins number six draft pick Vernon Davis in San Francisco. Davis embodies an all-around role player capacity. In his final year, the former Maryland star lined up at tight end, fullback, and wide receiver. He returned kicks and developed outstanding blocking skills. His size and speed create match up problems for opposing teams. Davis was picked up as a tight end by the 49ers, but may also have a wide receiver role in his future.

Multi-sport talented athlete, Kansas City tight end Gonzalez, thinks that transitioning between positions is a far cry from transitioning between sports, however. Basketball was his first love, but he saw that he had more potential in football. He had to put football first coming into the NFL, so he says his passion shifted. He says that to be successful, it is less important to find what you love than to find what you're good at and learn to love it.

"Success will grow on you," he says. "It teaches you to love what you do. No matter what your profession - teacher, writer, athlete, whatever - you cannot self-actualize if you don't have a fire for your craft."

"I played football in college, so it wasn't as much of a transition for me as some of these power forwards coming straight to the league. Not having experience will hurt you even if you are the most athletic kind of guy. Tight end is a blocking position- when you have a 290-pound defensive end like Michael Strahan coming at you full-speed it's do or die. You'd rather be running up the field then taking a pounding, so it's fight or flight. Players will do well; [Antonio] Gates proved it can be done. I think they will need to get experience before we can expect any big time players out of them," Gonzalez predicts. Gonzalez even says that he does not think he would have been so successful in football without basketball experience. "Playing high school, college, and pro level ball in both sports made me the player I am today on the court or on the turf. The hand-eye coordination an stamina were key; and going from getting open on a little basketball court compared to getting open on a huge field makes me feel like it's a lot easier. It's all relative." Previous to this latest rage in athletic musical chairs, several NFL kickers were pilfered from other sports like soccer.

Gary Anderson is one ex-soccer star kicking to the beat of a different drummer. Now tenured over 20 years as a veteran NFL kicker, Anderson has a unique back story. He emigrated from South Africa after high school, where he grew up a tri-athlete playing soccer, rugby, and cricket. He was recruited by Syracuse to play football, but his father, who was a professional soccer player in England, insisted that an addendum be added to his contract to allow him to play soccer too. Like Gonzalez, he played both sports throughout his college career, and found success on both fields.

"When I played in my first college game, I didn't even know what a first down was. All I knew was I had to kick it between the goal posts and get off the field," admits Anderson.

Anderson's athletic background prepared him unwittingly for football, a sport he had never seen before. Cricket requires the greatest concentration and mental acuteness, as well as stamina: an international match can take 5 days. Rugby prepared him for the physical roughness of football, and soccer developed his kicking skills. Anderson believes that a gifted athlete will learn the on-field game very quickly. According to him, athletic talent can transcend the arena or rules that you are accustomed to.

"Take my teammate in Minnesota, Randy Moss. He is a Michael Jordan type of guy. He could have had a successful pro career in football or basketball. To guys like that coming out of college, I tell them just keep playing. Ignore the hype and ignore the critics and just put everything you have into your game- whichever sport that may be," advises Anderson.

These are wise words for jersey-changing hopefuls. Ibekwe, Lewis, and Nelson are the poster boys for a different cut of athlete emerging in unexpected locations. The guys, their fans, and certainly their new coaches hope that their promising physiques and court-savvy skills will transfer smoothly when they step out onto the grid iron. What's more valuable in a player: Raw physical talent or experienced expertise? Does nature or nurture supply superstar potential? We'll find out this fall.

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