Earlier this week, former Baylor basketball player Mark Vital Jr. announced that he was going to pursue a career in the NFL. Clearly, it didn’t take him very long to receive an offer.
Young Money APAA Sports confirmed on Thursday that Vital is signing with the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad. He’ll get to spend this season working on his transition from basketball to football.
Honestly, we really shouldn’t be too surprised by this development. Vital said he wasn’t going to leave basketball behind without having something else in the works.
“I was never going to leave basketball just to leave basketball. I had a plan, but I had to make sure that the plan was right,” Vital said, via KPLC News. “I’m leaving basketball with things on the table. I had exhibit 10s, two-ways and overseas deals. For me to leave that, I actually had to have something in football.”
At 6-foot-5, Vital is a very intriguing prospect for the Seahawks. It’ll take time for him to learn the ins and outs of playing tight end, though.
Mark Vital, the Baylor guard, projects as a 6-foot-5, 250 TE in the NFL and lands on Seattle’s practice squad. An intriguing situation to track. https://t.co/eT6mTxGiZD
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 2, 2021
Vital is very optimistic about his outlook in the NFL because he’s already drawing comparisons to one of the greatest tight ends of all time.
“I’m already getting compared to Antonio Gates from different scouts and teams when hearing them talk about me. I’m already getting compared to a Hall of Famer and that’s motivation to me to get to that level,” Vital said. “I can see the similarities. He and I are both explosive, fast and big. We are built the same.”
That’s a really high bar that Vital is setting for himself, but we can’t blame him for aiming high.
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