Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

This article/post contains references to products or services from one or more of our advertisers or partners. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products or services.

College Football

5 SEC football players I’d love to see play college basketball

Connor O'Gara

By Connor O'Gara

Published:

Just because it’s March doesn’t mean I can’t still talk football.

But at the same time, I recognize that even if your brain is football-wired like mine, there are a few elements of the pigskin that come up on the hardwood. When someone gets in the passing lanes and it leads to a breakaway dunk, I see a pick-6. When a point guard tosses a perfect alley-oop, I see a quarterback tossing an on-target fade.

The cross-sport comps are obvious. That’s also true of the players themselves.

There are plenty of college football players who were also star high school basketball players. Every SEC football players mentioned on this list has basketball in their background, and for one reason or another, they’d make for intriguing college basketball players.

These are the 5 SEC football players who I’d love to see suit up for their respective SEC programs on the hardwood:

1. Treylon Burks, Arkansas WR

I mean, you know he can go up and get it. Burks took flight in Kendal Briles’ up-tempo offense, and there’s no doubt that Eric Musselman would find a way to use those incredible skills as a wing player in that up-tempo system. Burks was a 4-sport stud in high school, and in basketball specifically, he was all-state. Well, he was all-state in 4 sports. No big deal.

Burks is quick enough to line up in the slot the majority of the time. His ability to get separation would bode well for his ability to get off screens. Picture Moses Moody lobbing one up to Burks, rolling off a back-door cut. That doesn’t seem fair. It doesn’t seem fair that Burks can dominate anywhere you line him up.

Hey, even Sam Pittman sees it.

2. Jordan Burch, South Carolina DL

I could tell you about why Burch as a basketball player is fascinating … or I could just have you watch this:

That’s a 6-6, 270-pound high school senior doing that. Goodness.

Amidst Burch’s wild recruitment were regular reminders of just how unique of a 5-star he was. How serious was Burch about basketball? Even after he signed at South Carolina last year, Frank Martin essentially gave him an open invitation to join the team. Based on the way 2020-21 has gone for the Gamecocks, I’d say he could provide some immediate help.

Who knows how you get in front of a 270-pound wing like that. You want to take bad charges out of basketball? Let Burch get a head of steam and see who wants to stand in front of that. This is the same guy who played running back in high school. The coordination at that size is off the charts.

Of all the players on this list, Burch would have the best chance of playing in an SEC basketball game and becoming an immediate contributor.

3. Malachi Moore, Alabama DB

Moore’s dad was a Division I basketball player, and it’s not crazy to think that he could’ve also followed that path if not for football. Once upon a time, Moore thought he was going to the NBA. As his high school defensive coordinator Rudy Griffin said, “he thought he was freaking LeBron James.”

There’s certainly no doubt that he could match up and be a lockdown defender. Even at 6-0, 180 pounds, Moore could be a pest on the defensive end. There’s a reason he started in Nick Saban’s defense as a true freshman. He’s everywhere. You’d have offenses run high screen-and-rolls just to get Moore to switch off the point guard, though he probably wouldn’t.

Nate Oats would love having a guy who could defend like Moore. Even if he wasn’t an offensive star, he’d be a perfect fit in a system that praises that type of relentless effort on the defensive side.

I’d pay good money to hear Oats ask Nick Saban’s permission for Moore to join Alabama for a March run.

4. Keke Chism, Mizzou WR

Mizzou’s leader in receptions and receiving yards was once a stud high school basketball player in Daingerfield, Texas. He was a 20-10 guy as a high school senior.

At 6-4, we’ve seen Chism’s leaping ability. He can go up and make plays in the SEC. We saw that especially down the stretch of his first year at Mizzou after transferring from Division II Angelo State. Chism initially aspired to play both sports there but instead stuck with football. He’s also a former high school quarterback and point guard, so the passing ability isn’t lacking (he hit his growth spurt late in high school).

The former All-District MVP could play both on and off the ball. Would he grab 11 boards per game like he did in high school? No, but a 6-4 ball-carrier with his handle and leaping ability would certainly translate at the college level. So far, Chism has thrived with ever challenge to date.

Plus, Cuonzo Martin’s team could use a shot in the arm. Surely he could just pluck Mizzou’s top receiver and hope he sparks a run to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

5. Jalen Carter, Georgia DT

Last year, one of Carter’s AAU teammates told me that they used to throw him alley-oops from halfcourt and he’d throw them down. I’ll be honest. I raised a bit of an eyebrow. Carter is a 5-star defensive tackle. Dunking is one thing. Throwing down nasty dunks in the middle of games is another.

But much to my amazement, yes, Carter is absolutely that dude:

Yeah, nobody should be able to get up like that at 300 pounds. The dude is heavier than Zion Williamson, and he gets up like that. No wonder Kirby Smart lined him up on offense and threw a pass to him out of the backfield.

Carter is the reason the term “freak athlete” is overused. As in, we use it so much that when you see guys like him pull off feats like that at 300 pounds, it shouldn’t be lumped into a cliché. At 6-3, 305 pounds Carter is a Charles Barkley type. He’s not playing the perimeter, but he can absolutely carve out space on the low block.

Have mercy on the 6-7, 220-pound forward who would have to deal with him for an entire game.

Connor O'Gara

Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.

You might also like...

2025 RANKINGS

presented by rankings

RAPID REACTION

presented by rankings