Garland Owens spent his last four years playing basketball for at Boston College. Next year he’ll be suiting up to play football for Maryland.
Owens will hardly be the first person to have played both college football and basketball. Here is a look at some of the two-sport athletes Owens can aspire to be like in his time at College Park.
Tony Gonzalez
A sure-fire future Hall of Famer, the former Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons tight end spent three years at Cal playing both basketball and football for Berkeley’s Golden Bears. Gonzalez scored 6.4 points per game in his college hoops career. The tight end decided he was better off pursuing football and it was certainly the right decision: Gonzalez is sixth all-time in recieving touchdowns.
Julius Peppers
Julius Peppers will go down in history as one of the greatest pass rushers in NFL history. Peppers is fifth all-time in sacks and has more than any current player in the league. However, way back in 2001, Peppers was a member of a North Carolina basketball team that went 13-3 in the ACC and earned a two seed in the NCAA tournament. Peppers was a useful contributor to the Tar Heels’ basketball team, but it is highly unlikely his basketball career would have lasted as long as his football career.
Antonio Gates
In his senior year at Kent State, Antonio Gates led the Golden Flashes in points and rebounds per game, as they went 12-6 in conference play. Gates never actually played college football, but it has not stopped him from being one of the greatest players in San Diego Chargers history.
It is a little unrealistic to expect Owens to be as successful as players like Gonzalez, Peppers and Gates. However, there is a very clear precedent for college basketball players finding success in football.
