Andre Kelly played four seasons of college basketball at Cal.
He was one of the few bright spots during some bleak seasons. A year ago, he wrapped up a season in which he averaged 13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game and was chosen as an honorable mention All-Pac-12.
Kelly’s individual stats took a hit after transferring to UC Santa Barbara for his fifth year of college eligibility, but he enjoyed a lot more winning. The Gauchos won the Big West Conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
On Wednesday, Kelly (listed at 6-foot-9, 255 pounds) was inside Levi’s Stadium working out at tight end during the 49ers’ local pro day.
“I’ve always loved to play football,” said Kelly, who attended Lincoln High in Stockton. “I played in high school, so I was excited to come and get the opportunity and the experience. I didn’t have much time to train. I was in March Madness three weeks ago.”
Kelly’s college basketball career concluded with UC Santa Barbara’s 74-56 loss to third-seeded Baylor University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Kelly had four points and seven rebounds in his final college basketball game.
He could end up in the NBA Summer League and play basketball professionally at some level.
San Francisco 49ers
But, first, he wanted to test his football skills.
“I’m open to all possibilities in the future,” Kelly said after running a dozen routes and catching everything thrown his way while 49ers coaches and members of the personnel department watched.
“I don’t want to leave any doors closed in my future. I just want to see If I did good enough (during 49ers pro day) and (football) could be a real thing. I’d love for it to be a real thing.”
Kelly actually carving out a career in football is a long shot. But there are plenty of examples of college basketball players finding success in the NFL. Tony Gonzalez was a two-sport athlete at Cal. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2019.
Antonio Gates (Kent State) and Mo Allie-Cox (Virginia Commonwealth) are among a group of NFL players who played only basketball in college.
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Kelly said he believes his hands and footwork could convince NFL teams to give him a long look. His best hope likely would be to secure a multi-day tryout with some team during a rookie camp following the draft.
“Last year at Cal before I grad-transferred, I wanted to play (football) at Cal. I wanted to play both football and basketball,” Kelly said. “In high school I played, so I wanted to get back into it at some point. With basketball, I had opportunities there, but I definitely wanted to come out here and give this a shot as well.”