From basketball to football: Andre Kelly hopes he impressed at 49ers local pro day

Less than a month ago, Andre Kelly was on the basketball court, hoping to help advance UC Santa Barbara in the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, Baylor eliminated the Gauchos, and Kelly got to work on a potential transition to football.

Kelly was among the 36 San Francisco 49ers local pro day attendees this week. After the practice inside Levi’s Stadium, he was all smiles, eager to speak with reporters and discuss his attempt to catch on with an NFL team.

At 6-foot-9, Kelly has the height needed to create mismatches against NFL defensive backs. He finished his basketball season at about 258 pounds but figures he is at 267 right now. That’s heftier than the 49ers’ star tight end, George Kittle.

The NFL has been producing lighter tight ends in recent years, which is good news for Kelly, who hasn’t closed the door on his basketball career.

“That’s definitely something that is helping now, being able to be fast and be agile and be explosive,” Kelly told reporters on Wednesday. “Something I feel that definitely translates to both sports, so I’m grateful that it’s shifting that way. I don’t have to gain 30 pounds and try to lose 30. It’s a minor change.”

Kelly played football in high school and has always loved the sport. He’s hoping to catch on as a tight end.

“I’m open to all possibilities in the future,” Kelly responded when asked if he was serious about his pursuit of playing in the NFL. “I don’t want to leave any door closed, especially for my future.”

Kelly spent these past few weeks working with any quarterbacks willing to throw him passes, even if it meant seeking out junior college quarterbacks. Even his father tossed him a few passes.

“I was trying to get as many reps as I could,” Kelly shared. “Every day, I was running … anybody throwing to me, just get those reps in.”

Kelly hoped to return to the football field even before transferring to UC Santa Barbara.

“Last year at Cal, before I graduated, I wanted to play at Cal, actually,” Kelly said. “So I wanted to play both football and basketball. Unfortunately, I transferred, and I wasn’t able to play, but I’ve always loved it. In high school, I played, so I wanted to get back into it at some point.

“And then with basketball, I kind of have opportunities there, but I wanted to definitely come out here and give this a shot as well.”

Kelly hopes that his basketball skill set will help catch the eye of an NFL squad. He won’t be the first to make the transition, naming NFL stars that have successfully done so, like tight ends Jimmy Graham, Mo Alie-Cox, and Rico Gathers.

“I know there’s a lot of guys that had made this transition, and I think definitely there’s some correlation for me,” Kelly explained. “I was fortunate to play from a young age, so the hands and things like that, I think that actually helped me in basketball.

“But I think … they have good reach to catch it, high point on the ball. That’s something I think is influenced from basketball, rebounding. So I think that’s something you kind of see out here as well, trying to go reach at its peak. That’s something I try to do.”