The college basketball season just wrapped up with North Carolina winning the national title but it appears one hardcourt player isn’t ready for college to be over just yet and is moving over to the gridiron.
San Jose State senior Brandon Mitchell spent the past four years with the Spartans basketball team but according to the San Jose Mercury News, has traded his sneakers in for cleats and is now practicing as a wide receiver. A forward known mostly for his defensive ability, the 6-foot-6, 210 pounder played in 86 hoops games at the school but apparently wanted to stick around in college athletics after his team’s season ended with a loss to Utah State in the Mountain West basketball tournament in March.
The move from basketball to football is becoming more and more common, with the NFL providing plenty of success stories (especially at the tight end position). It remains to be seen if Mitchell can make much of an impact for SJSU given the presence of receivers like Justin Holmes, Tre Hartley and a host of others but he does bring plenty of size to an offense that is shifting gears to more of an up-tempo spread attack under new head coach Brent Brennan.
The Spartans recently started spring practice and Mitchell’s progression as a receiver could be one of the more interesting storylines for the team heading into their April 15th spring game.