Does he have 1 or 2yrs.fb eligibility? Actually football is a game that one can pick up pretty fast as long as you are a great athlete and you like to hit. It wouldn't surprise me at all if this works out for the better.
if he had a few years to develop -- as it stands it would surprise me if he actually saw meaningful action but that's just my opinion.
As a basketball player, he has a very muscular build and is very quick. The reasons he didn't work out for ND basketball are because he never looked particularly comfortable on the floor and either that nervousness on the floor led to poor ball handling and shooting or he's simply not a great ball handler or shooter. Maybe the structure of football and having plays last 5 or so seconds would work for Brooks so he doesn't get so frozen with nerves.
If he commits to the weight room and bulks up a bit, I can see him potentially working into the rotation on the football field at TE. It's possible he'll have very good hands from his basketball experience. Also, there is no question he is an excellent athlete.
Lastly, he is a great influence in a locker room. He's got a positive attitude and would be a great teammate.
But with one year, as you point out, the odds are long.
On the plus side, he's been around long enough to have some idea of the work involved to achieve to this level and he is participating in camp Kelly.
he was recruited by CAL football and they let him play basketball. There was never any question as to which sport he was better at.
A better comparison for the "best case" scenario would be Antonio Gates. I don't believe he ever played college football.
to have a chance and for him to take it. Apparently there are several tight ends in the NFL that were actually mostly BB players in college with only maybe one or two yrs of FB, and these are some of the best TEs in the NFL, Graham of the Saints, e.g., played only 1 yr of FB at Miami.
Another Kevin Boss, a local Oregon athlete stayed close to home so he could play BBall and Football at a D2 school, Western Oregon. The Giants drafted him 5th round and he started on their Superbowl winning team as a rookie. BBall is definitely an asset for Tight end-
And it was an excellent Kent State team. Gates was too undersized to play PF in the NBA, but he dominated the college game. He was recruited to play football and basketball at Michigan State, but Saban insisted Gates only play football. As a result, Gates transferred.
As you may or may not recall, that Kent State squad (2001-2002 season) was one win away from the Final Four, beating Oklahoma State, Alabama (SEC Champs), and Pitt (Big East regular season champs) before falling to eventual runner-up, Indiana (Big Ten co-champs).
they let him play and he logged a lot of minutes but there were some really good players on those CAL teams. He came right after Jason Kidd, but he was on the same team as guys like Shareef Abdur Rahim (probably butchered that one), Ed Gray, and others.
The story has grown over the years but the truth is that he rarely started (6 times 1996-1997), didn't shoot all that well (less than 50% as a post player 2 out of 3 years), and didn't score that much (less than 7 points per game). His future was always clearly in football and he was viewed as a football player trying to play basketball. Now, that's not a knock on his as I feel he was a tremendous athlete but it's not fair to compare a guy like Brooks to him.
I believe what spurred on the legend was his play in the PAC10 tournament and into the NCAAs. He played at an unbelievable rate for a stretch of 5 games and then laid an egg against UNC in the Sweet Sixteen.
Brey helped Kelly out when they were recruiting Golson. Now Kelly's helping Brey free up a scholarship.
...after graduating from ND, so he wouldn't have taken a scholarship.
He is reasonably strong and athletic for a shooting guard. If he was more physical he could have seen more minutes as a small forward. Mostly his problem seemed to be that he never looked comfortable on the floor...except for one game as I recall.
I suspect that if used in a limited role as a red zone target or possession receiver on third andlong situations, he could be very effective. His 6'6" is probably an inch or so high, but he does have decent leaping ability. Most of all, he always seems to bring a great attitude to the team. I suspect that he will work very hard, and others will want him to succeed as well.
He is basketball strong, but I don't know that he is football strong. He really didn't get a lot of playtime for the basketball team so I don't think he ever got comfortable enough to show play making ability (if he has that kind of athleticism). He has a good frame and should be above average athletically for the position. I imagine he will struggle blocking, but if he has good body control and good hands, he may provide a redzone threat.