CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Carolina Panthers signed a major developmental project at tight end on Monday, bringing in 6-foot-8, 245-pound Colin Granger, a former Division I basketball player. After spending five years on the court at Ohio, Western Carolina, and most recently Coastal Carolina, Granger is now set to begin his transition to football.
Since Colin Granger is five years out of high school, he was eligible to be drafted last year and was able to sign with the Panthers as a free agent. He’ll now compete for playing time alongside Tommy Tremble, Ja’Tavion Sanders, Jordan Matthews, James Mitchell, and Dominique Dafney. This isn’t the first time Panthers coach Dave Canales and GM Dan Morgan have worked with a former basketball player transitioning to football—they were both with the Seahawks when the team signed George Fant, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound former Western Kentucky basketball and football player, as a hybrid tackle/tight end.
Fant, who has spent seven seasons in the NFL with the Seahawks, Jets, and Texans, has been mentoring Granger and was the one who recommended him to the Panthers. Unlike Fant, however, Granger hasn’t played football since eighth grade. Still, Carolina is hoping he can follow the path of former college basketball players like Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, and Jimmy Graham, who successfully transitioned to becoming standout NFL tight ends.
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