Skip to content

New Colts signing Demarco Cox was 'playing the wrong sport' at Georgia Tech

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

If the Indianapolis Colts signing Demarco Cox ends up working out, it won't be the first time a college basketball player has found success on a football field.

In the case of Cox, who just finished five seasons on the hardwood, he may have just spent half a decade playing the wrong sport. That's what Georgia Tech football coach Paul Johnson thinks, anyway.

Cox played the 2014-15 season with Georgia Tech's basketball team after spending four seasons, including a redshirted 2012-13 in which he played just seven games due to injury, at Ole Miss

It wasn't an entirely unsuccessful career. The 6-foot-8 Cox averaged 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds this season and averaged 4.3 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 51.5 percent over 133 career games.

But with multiple football offers from SEC and Big Ten schools out of high school, the 294-pound behemoth could have been helping on the gridiron at either of his two stops. The Colts will now try to make him an offensive tackle, betting that his size and athletic ability can make for an expedited learning curve after five years playing an entirely different sport.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox