Carolina Panthers shock the NFL with “out of the box” free-agent signing

Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch/ USA Today Sports

On Monday, the Carolina Panthers made headlines after signing former Division 1 college basketball player Colin Granger to a free-agent contract. The 6-foot-8, 245-pounder will transition from center in college basketball to tight end in the NFL.

You might be asking, how were the Panthers able to sign a rookie before the draft?

Since Granger is five years removed from graduating high school, he could sign with any team. He was also eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft. However, the graduate student hasn’t played football since freshman year of high school.

“My freshman year of high school, I had just stopped playing football,” said Colin Granger in a phone interview with The Athletic. “The head football coach called me out of class every single day, and he wanted me to play football.”

The Johns Creek, Georgia native played five seasons of college basketball at three different schools. Granger spent his first two years at Ohio University before playing two seasons at Western Carolina. He finished his collegiate career at Coastal Carolina.

Granger had a career year during his final season at Coastal Carolina. He averaged 7.2 points per game and 4.4 rebounds, playing 17.8 minutes a night. Per Granger, he had offers to continue playing basketball overseas. However, there was one offer to stay in the States that the Georgia native couldn’t refuse, even if it involved switching sports.

NFL offensive tackle George Fant messaged Granger on social media, asking if he’d be interested in making the switch from basketball to football. The eight-year veteran was a college basketball star at Western Kentucky before converting his talents to the NFL. Fant was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2016 by the Seattle Seahawks as a hybrid tackle and tight end.

The current free agent recently started a program where he would search for highly athletic basketball players and train them to become football players. Granger was Fant’s first client. After Granger’s basketball season ended, the two worked together for weeks at Fant’s home in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

“I just saw Colin kind of pop off the screen to me,” said George Fant in an interview with The Athletic. “I thought he could be a guy that could play offensive line like a Lane Johnson kind of guy. Once I got him to Kentucky, though, and I got to see him run around, I knew right away he was a tight end.

“Right away he bought in and was the kind of guy you didn’t have to tell something twice,” Fant said. “Once you were able to show it to him, he took it and learned from it right away and got better.”

How did Granger end up on the Panthers’ radar?

Back in 2016, when the Seahawks signed Fant, wide receivers coach Dave Canales, tight ends coach Pat McPherson, and director of pro personnel Dan Morgan helped with Fant’s transition between sports. Fast forward to the day Granger signed in Carolina, Morgan is the Panthers’ general manager, Canales is the team’s head coach, and McPherson is the team’s tight ends coach. All three have valuable experience working with a player switching from college basketball to professional football.

After impressing during a private workout in front of a handful of teams and scouts, Fant’s relationship with the Panthers’ front office and coaching staff, along with Granger’s physical traits and strong performance, landed the latter in Carolina. Per Fant, Granger posted a 4.8 40-yard dash and a 40-inch vertical leap.

Granger will look to emulate Pro Football Hall of Famers Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez, and five-time Pro Bowler Jimmy Graham as former college basketball players who transitioned into incredibly talented and successful NFL tight ends.

The 6-foot-8 tight end will join a young room where chances to prove himself could be plentiful. Led by 32-year-old former wide receiver Jordan Matthews, the team’s tight end group consists of second-year player Ja’Tavion Sanders and 24-year-old Tommy Tremble, both played for the Panthers last season. The organization also added James Mitchell and Dominique Dafney, signing both to futures contracts in January.