Fendi Onobun is a tight end whose college football career consisted of just two catches for 33 yards. But before playing one year of college football last season at Houston, Onubun played four years of college basketball at Arizona. And the athleticism he showed on the basketball court -- as well as in private workouts this spring -- makes him a potential pick in the NFL draft.
The Charlotte Observer reports that Onobun caught the eye of the Carolina Panthers with a workout that included a 4.48-second 40-yard dash, a 37.5-inch vertical jump and an 11-foot-1 standing broad jump. That’s an inch better than the best broad jump at the combine.
Until playing for Houston last year, Onobun hadn’t played football since junior high school. But even though he has a much better chance of making it in the NFL than the NBA, he says he doesn’t have any regrets about devoting himself to basketball instead of football for eight years.
“I’m a big believer that things happen when one door closes and another one opens,” Onobun told the Arizona Daily Star. “I can’t look back and say, ‘what if?’”
Now Onobun can look forward and say he has a real chance of playing in the NFL.