From the NCAA Tournament to the 49ers? Andre Kelly takes his shot at football

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Basketball on grass.

Over the past several years, that term has surged in popularity to describe football. The gridiron has seen an increasing speed, spacing, positional adaptability and general commonalities with how offenses operate on the hardwood.

That’s intriguing news for someone like Andre Kelly, who just finished a run as a college basketball standout and is now interested in becoming a professional football player. The 6-foot-9, 267-pounder, who hasn’t played organized football since he was a high schooler in Stockton, ran through drills as a tight end at the 49ers’ pro day for local prospects Wednesday.

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“I’ve always loved playing football,” Kelly said afterward. “I was just excited for the opportunity, the experience. I didn’t have much time to train for this. I was just in March Madness three weeks ago.”

Kelly played his final college season as a graduate transfer for UC Santa Barbara. He started all 34 games for the Gauchos, who won the Big West Conference title before losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Baylor on March 17. Kelly had previously played four seasons for Cal, averaging 13.4 points per game as a senior.

The Golden Bears boast a particularly famous example of a college basketball player who went on to NFL stardom as a tight end. That’s Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, a dual-sport athlete at Cal from 1994 to 1997.

Kelly has a much longer road ahead of him than Gonzalez had coming out of college because he’s been playing exclusively basketball since his time at Stockton’s Lincoln High. But Kelly is intrigued by a recent crossover between the two sports, especially at the tight end position.

“I’ve looked into it, the Jimmy Grahams, the Mo Alie-Coxes, the Rico Gathers,” Kelly said. “I know there are a lot of guys that have made the transition. And there’s definitely a correlation for me. The hands, that helped me from basketball. The good reach to catch it, high-pointing the ball. That’s something we emphasize in basketball for rebounding. And that’s something you see out (on the football field) as well.”

Kelly spent the three weeks since the conclusion of his basketball season doing intensive route running and lifting because he figured the 49ers’ pro day might feature bench-press testing and other strength components. But prospects only conducted on-field drills, so Kelly — who said he’d bulked up from 258 pounds to 267 pounds — wasn’t able to showcase that new muscle.

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Instead, he caught passes from Fresno State’s Jake Haener and Stanford’s Tanner McKee, a pair of prominent local quarterbacks.

Intriguing prospect: Basketball player Andre Kelly is working out at TE today. Here he catches a pass from Jake Haener with Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch and Adam Peters watching … pic.twitter.com/bSBlxrKtEE

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) April 12, 2023

It was Kelly’s highest-profile receiving session to date. He’d spent the past three weeks cobbling together as many route-running opportunities as possible for practice, scouring the area — including its junior colleges — for quarterbacks who’d throw to him.

“Even my dad was throwing to me,” Kelly said, laughing. “I just had to get those reps in.”

Upon arriving at Levi’s Stadium on Wednesday, Kelly was surprised that he wasn’t the tallest prospect in attendance. That designation belonged to 6-11 Washington State offensive lineman Jack Wilson, a Montara native who’d graduated from San Mateo’s Junipero Serra High and played AAU basketball with Kelly several years ago.

“I was actually happy to see him as a familiar face here,” Kelly said. “He’s a monster.”

6-11 (!!) tackle prospect Jack Wilson moved very well for his size at the 49ers’ local pro day pic.twitter.com/uSrF3T735Y

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) April 12, 2023

And just like that, a theme was born for the pro day: It featured two prospects who towered over their counterparts at Levi’s, who’d both played college basketball (Wilson played a season at Washington State) and who moved notably well.

“He’s always been that agile,” Kelly said of Wilson. “And he’s always been able to impress you — the things he can do at that size, dating back to when we were younger. Because a lot of the time, when you see someone that size, that young, their coordination might not be there. They might be a bit unstable, unbalanced. But he’s always had really good coordination, really good balance. Pretty good athleticism since he was young.”

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Neither Kelly nor Wilson is projected to be picked in the upcoming NFL Draft. Wilson, who played primarily on special teams units at Washington State, might need to add bulk to his big frame to have a shot at properly anchoring in pass protection at the next level. But his length and athleticism — long arms can help keep pass rushers at bay before they can execute a proper bull rush — are intriguing.

Kelly, meanwhile, will have to decide whether to zero in on football or basketball, perhaps overseas.

“This past couple of weeks, I was doing both,” Kelly said. “I’d lift in the morning, run some routes at 5, and then as soon as I’m done with my routes, I’d go to the gym to get some shots up. I’ve been just doing it all. It’s crazy that this is my life — now I might have some tryouts for basketball teams, so it’s crazy to think I’m doing both. But it’s definitely exciting, and I’m good for the experience.

“I don’t want to leave any doors closed in my future. I just want to see all aspects. If I did good enough today and (football) could be a real thing, I’d love for it to be a real thing.”

And that’s where “basketball on grass” comes into the picture. The trend toward lighter explosiveness on the gridiron certainly makes that transition easier from a physical perspective.

“I’m definitely glad football is shifting that way,” Kelly said. “I’m glad I don’t have to gain 30 pounds and try to lose 30. It’s only a minor change.”

Many of the other changes, though, are big. And that’s why Kelly embraced Wednesday’s chance to showcase his physical skill set.

“I was excited for the opportunity,” Kelly said. “If anything, it was a great experience to have. I just trained for it as much as I could in the three weeks I had. I gave it my best shot.”

(Photo of Andre Kelly in the NCAA Tournament: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)

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