We’re in the middle of March Madness and by now some of us might be dreading what our NCAA tournament brackets look like. The Packers have had their fair share of players who played college basketball before heading into the NFL. We’ll look at some of those who made it on the basketball court before hitting the gridiron for the Packers.
Demetri Goodson
Goodson played cornerback for the Packers from 2014-2017. He was drafted in the sixth round in the 2014 NFL draft out of Baylor. Before he played football at Baylor, he played basketball at Gonzaga University from 2008-2011. During his time as a Packer Goodson started 3 games but didn’t record an interception. He was released from the team in 2018.
Quinten Rollins
Rollins was drafted by the Packers in 2015 in the second round of the NFL Draft. He played for the Packers from 2015- 2017. Rollins only played 1 season of college football at the University of Miami (Ohio). Before that he played basketball for the RedHawks from 2010-2014 and played in 116 games. During Rollins time with the Packers he started 15 games and had 3 interceptions, one of them was a pick-six against the then St.Louis Rams his rookie season.
Julius Peppers
Peppers came to Green Bay as a free agent from the Bears in 2014 and played for the Packers for 3 seasons. But long before he played for the Packers, Peppers played basketball at the University of North Carolina where he was part of the team that made the Final Four in 2000, he played basketball for two years before solely focusing on football his last year of college.
Peppers was a big contributor to the Packers defense while he was here. He never missed a game for the Packers and recorded 25 sacks along with 2 interceptions that ending up being touchdowns.
Jimmy Graham
Graham was signed by the Packers as a free agent in 2018 to help bolster the Packers Tight End position after several seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints. Like Rollins, Graham only had one year of playing college football before heading into the NFL. Before playing football, Graham played college basketball for the Miami Hurricanes for four years under head coach Frank Haith. Graham only played two seasons with the Packers and scored 5 touchdowns before signing as a free agent with the Chicago Bears.
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Hau Khuong has been a Packers fan since 1996. He currently works as a video editor in Green Bay and writes for PackersTalk.com and you can follow him on twitter at @HauKhuongSports.
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