Report: Rico Gathers to play football at Baylor in 2016

The hotly discussed move from basketball to football for Baylor's Rico Gathers took another turn Monday, as Gathers will return to the school for a season on the gridiron instead of turning pro, reports John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.

At 6-foot-5, 275-pounds, Gathers has the size and athleticism NFL scouts drool over, and as recently as last week, it looked as though he was poised for an NFL tryout following the Bears basketball season. During his senior campaign on the basketball court, NFL teams took an interest, including a Buffalo Bills scout who attended a regular season contest against Texas.

Now it looks as though he'll spend a season in the explosive Baylor football offense before chasing his professional dream.

The path for a college basketball star to the NFL is one more travelled in recent years, as Julius Thomas, Antonio Gates, and Jimmy Graham have all shone at tight end in the NFL after successful college basketball careers.

The idea of Gathers being utilized in Art Briles offense is intriguing to say the least. Baylor's offensive genius famously used 400-pound LaQuan McGowan as a tight end last season.