VCU basketball player Mo Alie-Cox set to work out for NFL Teams April 11
By Trey Daubert
Can Mo Alie-Cox be the latest college basketball player to make a successful transition to the NFL?
Some of the best tight ends in the NFL today started their collegiate careers as former basketball players. Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham are just recent examples of this phenomenon. VCU basketball player Mo Alie-Cox will try to become the latest success story as he looks to make his mark in the NFL.
NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo has reported that Alie-Cox will work out for NFL teams April 11 in Virginia.
VCU basketball player Mo Alie-Cox has informed NFL teams he will work out for them as a TE on April 11 near Richmond, VA.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 31, 2017
Cowboys tight end Jason Witten was the first to suggest that the VCU basketball player could have a future in the NFL. After Witten attended a VCU game in 2015, he gave this message to Alie-Cox (via USA Today).
"“You’ve got a football body, Witten told Alie-Cox. Not to mention huge hands, he added, stretching his own digits — hardened and calloused by a dozen seasons in the NFL — for a palm-to-palm comparison. You could get an invite to an NFL training camp just based on how you look out of pads, Witten said.”“He told me I could make the transition to football,” Alie-Cox said “He said if it’s something I wanted to do I should look into it.”"
The fascinating part of this story is that VCU does not even have a football team, as Alie-Cox hasn’t played a game of football since high school. At 6-foot-7, 250 pounds, you can see the physical component to his game, as the VCU offense relied on Alie-Cox to set screens. Following the conclusion of his senior year, he finished the season with 9.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Next: Check out the latest NFL Mock Draft
In what is considered a deep tight end draft class, NFL teams may be interested in Mo Alie-Cox in the sixth or seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft. A similar situation happened just a year ago after Baylor basketball player Rico Gathers was drafted by the Cowboys in the sixth round after an impressive workout. Even if he does not get drafted, expect him to be added to a 90-man roster during training camp.