INDIANAPOLIS — Ten days ago, Carson Towt was fighting for rebounds in a Notre Dame basketball jersey. Today, he is an NFL player. The Indianapolis Colts officially signed the 6-foot-7, 250-pound forward as an undrafted free agent on Tuesday, banking on his elite athleticism to fuel a transition to tight end.
From Hardwood to the Gridiron
The move happened with lightning speed. Towt played his final collegiate basketball game on March 7, a hard-fought loss to Boston College in the ACC tournament. By March 17, he had a contract in hand. The Colts didn’t wait for the draft because Towt was technically a free agent from the 2025 cycle, having exhausted his four-year “football clock” while dominating the glass in the Big Sky and ACC.
He isn’t just a big body; he is a verified athletic freak. Towt led the nation in rebounding during the 2024-25 season at Northern Arizona before transferring to South Bend. He finished his lone season with the Fighting Irish averaging 9.0 rebounds and 5.9 points per game. Scouts watched his 6-foot-7 frame navigate the paint and saw a “Y” tight end waiting to happen. The transition from sneakers to cleats is a steep climb for someone who has never played a snap of organized football, but the physical tools are undeniable.
“I’ve had the itch to play football all through college. This sport honors my physical gifts—the dirty work, the rebounding, the physicality. I think it fits my play style even better than basketball does.”
— Carson Towt, Indianapolis Colts Tight End
The Mo Alie-Cox Blueprint
If there is any team that knows how to turn a power forward into a red-zone threat, it is Indianapolis. Towt joins a locker room featuring veteran Mo Alie-Cox, the VCU basketball standout who successfully made the same leap nearly a decade ago. Alie-Cox recently re-signed with the Colts, providing Towt with a mentor who understands the specific hurdles of learning a playbook from scratch at age 24.
The Colts’ offense is in a state of flux. With Daniel Jones recently re-signed to lead the huddle and star receiver Alec Pierce locked into a massive extension, head coach Shane Steichen is looking for mismatch weapons. Towt will spend the spring and summer learning how to block in-line and run routes, but his primary job remains the same as it was in the paint: out-jump the man in front of him and take the ball away.
