Top 10 NFL players who played in NCAA Tournament games聽
7. Julius Thomas, Portland State
Long before he caught the touchdown that gave Peyton Manning the single-season passing touchdown record, Thomas was a basketball player for small school Portland State. During his four years playing for the Vikings, Thomas played in 121 games with 79 starts averaging 6.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
Unfortunately for Thomas, his usage and production dropped precipitously over his two NCAA Tournament games. Thomas averaged just 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.5 steals over 11.0 minutes in both of the Vikings tournament games during the 2008 NCAA Tournament and the 2009 NCAA Tournament, both losses.聽
In the NFL, Thomas found his niche as a tight end, playing seven years in the league. He was selected to two Pro Bowls over the course of his career and left the NFL in 2017.
