On Tuesday, March 17, general manager of the Indianapolis Colts Chris Ballard signed University of Notre Dame men’s basketball graduate Carson Towt. While having numerous years of basketball under his belt, Towt does not have any experience on the football field. While this decision may come as a surprise to most, this is not the first time the Colts have signed a basketball player. Most recently, they signed VCU basketball graduate Mo Alie-Cox in 2017, though Alie-Cox had high school football experience.
Towt started his career at Gilbert High School in Arizona, where he ranks second in school record for rebounds. He led his team to win the 5A Arizona state Championship in 2019, the school’s first title since 2003, which greatly helped his recruitment to play at Northern Arizona University.
Towt decided to redshirt his freshman year, so he hit the court in the 2020-2021 season. That season, he ranked second again in rebounds with an average of 4.6 and an average of 5.6 points. His sophomore year, he started every game where his average rebounds almost doubled at 8.8 per game and 280 for the whole season. Junior year he led the Lumberjacks in assists, rebounds and blocks. During 2023-2024, what should have been Towt’s senior year, he did not play due to an injury but finished out his final year the next season. In his final year donning the Lumberjacks jersey, Towt led the nation in rebounds with a whopping 12.4 per game, 423 for the season as a whole. In total, Towt has 1,357 career rebounds and 1,383 points.
For his graduate year at Notre Dame, Towt did not disappoint the Irish with his rebounding abilities. He averaged nine per game and led with the most per game 23-31 times. Towt’s addition to coach Micah Shrewsberry’s roster did not go unnoticed to Irish fans and apparently also to the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts hope to train 6-foot-8, 250-pound Towt to be a tight end. With his impressive background of rebounds, it sets him up as a good candidate to play the position due to his stature and ability to catch a ball. However, with no previous football experience, it will be interesting to see how Towt performs and where he falls on the roster. This deal also opens up the possibility of more college basketball players putting themselves up as free agents instead of going to the NBA or other basketball leagues, a development which could impact the future of collegiate and professional athletics alike.
Towt said in the Colts’ news release that he is “excited to see where we can all go,” and Notre Dame fans will hopefully be able to cheer on another Notre Dame alum in the big leagues this upcoming NFL season.
