Not everyone who participated in LSU’s Pro Day last week was on the LSU football team.
Brian Bridgewater, who played on LSU’s basketball team, is hoping to convince some NFL teams that he has what it takes to make it as an NFL tight end. Bridgewater said scouts were pleased to see that he can catch a football, something he never doubted he’d have a problem with.
“A lot of them were surprised that I caught the ball really well,” Bridgewater told the Times-Picayune. “I thought that was funny, because that’s like my biggest asset, catching. It’s like rebounding -- you just go up and get it.”
The 6-foot-5, 282-pound Bridgewater is an extreme long shot to be drafted, but he’s hoping he can catch on as an undrafted free agent and follow in the footsteps of Chargers tight end Antonio Gates and Chiefs tight end Demetrius Harris, both of whom played basketball only in college. Bridgewater was recruited by several top football programs coming out of high school, but an injury limited him to just one football game in his senior year and he decided to focus exclusively on basketball.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Bridgewater put on the shoulder pads in an NFL camp, for the first time since high school.