CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “What’s up bro! I’m starting a program where I’m helping athletic basketball guys transition to the NFL … TE/OL. Basically, I go through a database of guys who fit a certain mode that translates to football and I think you have a chance of making that transition. … If you’re interested, let me know and we can chop it up.”
New Carolina Panthers tight end Colin Granger thought it was a joke at first.
It was early March and the 6-foot-8, 245-pound center at Coastal Carolina was finishing his fifth season of college basketball at his third school when he got the above message on Instagram from George Fant, a person he’d never heard of, asking if he’d like to give the NFL a try.
Never mind that Granger hadn’t played football since the eighth grade. Fant was willing to fly him to Kentucky, put him up in his house, feed him with his personal chef and train him with the hope that at least one NFL team would be interested.
“I was very skeptical,” Granger said. “But he said he was an NFL player. He’s got a verified account. He has a following. So you can clearly see he’s a real person.
“But at first glance of the message, I did think it was fake.”
It was no joke. And less than a month later, not one, but five teams (the Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles) came to Atlanta for Granger’s pro day before the the Panthers signed him a few days later.
For Granger, 23, it is the beginning of a whirlwind journey he never dreamed of.
For Fant, 32, it is the beginning of his dream of helping other college basketball players transition to the NFL. Fant never played college football, but in 2016, the Seahawks took a chance on the 6-5, 290-pound basketball player out of Western Kentucky, adding him as an undrafted free agent and developing him into an offensive tackle. He is currently a free agent and has worked out for several teams this offseason.
Fant wants to begin an academy for college basketball players, similar to the NFL’s International Pathway Program that creates opportunities for athletes globally.
“I was looking at guys like Jimmy Graham and Antonio Gates that made the jump,” Fant said of college basketball players who became successful NFL tight ends. “I was one of the first guys to transition to offensive tackle.
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“So this is definitely going to be a full-time gig for me after football. For it to be our trial year, and for our first and only athlete to get a contract three days after his pro day, we’re obviously doing something right.”
Fant’s dream began last season when a knee injury landed him on injured reserve in Seattle.
While rehabbing, he put together a database of eight to 10 college basketball players who fit the profile he felt could transition to the NFL. He narrowed the list to two.
Granger, who averaged 7.2 points and 4.4 rebounds for the Chanticleers this past season, caught Fant’s eye in part because of the way he attacked the boards for offensive rebounds.
“Those things come from leverage,” Fant said. “That was one of my niches. In football you have to play with leverage. And offensive rebounds show you’re a really tough player.”
Panthers’ area scout Adam Maxie saw that at Granger’s pro day. But what made general manager Dan Morgan and coach Dave Canales comfortable with signing this project player was the history they had with Fant when the three of them were with the Seahawks.
“For myself, going to Seattle was big because of the culture they had,” Fant said. “If you look at Carolina, that’s Seattle’s South. Them having the trust and belief in what I said, that means a whole lot to me and what I bring to the game.”
Granger isn’t the first college basketball player the Panthers took a chance on.
Chris Manhertz hadn’t played a down of football before going to the Buffalo Bills in 2015 as an undrafted rookie out of Canisius. He was claimed by Carolina in October of 2016 and started 26 games in five seasons.
He recently re-signed with the New York Giants after starting 11 games for them in 2024. He loves what Fant is doing to encourage more college basketball players to give the NFL a shot.
“It will be useful, just the runway of guys in the past and their track record,” Manhertz said. “Guys like Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham and myself that made the transition, so it shows it’s not impossible.”
Gates is the most famous among a short list of basketball players who went to the NFL with no college football experience. He became an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and is a part of the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Manhertz, primarily known for his blocking, said it takes a unique ability to become an elite pass catcher as Gates did. He reminded it’s not easy to go from basketball to facing a charging safety on a pass over the middle.
“The physicality and mentality is totally different,” he said. “Football is a violent, collision sport. I kind of just had to rewire how I approached my training, my technique and even my mindset, knowing it’s a gladiator game.”
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Granger, who played running back and tight end before putting his entire focus on basketball after the eighth grade, can’t wait for his first hit.
“I want to get it out of the way,” said Granger, who was listed at Coastal Carolina at 6-9 with shoes and 225 pounds before adding weight with Fant. “It might hurt. It might not. I’m a pretty big dude, too, so people are going to get hit by me as well.”
Fant doesn’t see contact as an issue for Granger after the countless hours of studying him on tape and YouTube videos.
“If you watch, you’ll see that guy’s a banger,” Fant said. “He’s not afraid to run into the paint at full speed. And he’s not running around people. He’s trying to run through them.
“These are all things I’m looking for when I’m going through the process. I’m not looking for guys that avoid contact. I’m looking for guys who love contact, who can create contact … [things] that show me you’re a physical player.”
Granger is glad he took Fant’s initial message seriously enough to follow up, instead of heading to Europe to pursue playing professional basketball.
He believes Fant will open the door for others like him. He still can’t believe five teams showed up for his pro day.
“George kept explaining to me, ‘Dude, this never happens. Like, it’s incredible that five teams came out here to see you,'” Granger said. “He just found me cold.
“George knows his stuff. So while I was skeptical at first, you never know what’s going to happen now.”
