Off the Hoof: Ish Wanright continues transition to gridiron

No, Ish Wainright didn't get the Rico Gathers treatment when he played basketball for Scott Drew on the Baylor basketball team. In fact, it probably wasn't mentioned once that Wainright should consider playing football if basketball didn't work out.

That didn't matter to Wainright when he opted to move to the football field despite no pressure of the media every time he picked up the roundball. He might be feeling a little more pressure now, however, now that Gathers caught his first touchdown pass of his career last week for the Dallas Cowboys.

Maybe not. Wainright did catch a touchdown pass of his own in an exhibition game back in the spring.

What can be expected from Wainright this fall? At the end of the day, there are two things that will always hold true: He will always give 100-percent effort and he will always be a great teammate.

But really, what about football?

Under Drew, Wainright was listed at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds. After time in the weight room picking up the heavy weights, Wainright has transitioned his body to a lean 260 pounds holding the same height. He's not the mountain of a man that Gathers is at 290 pounds for the 'Boys, but he's plenty big to project to the NFL.

In a tight end friendly system that Matt Rhule has implemented in Waco, Wainright's size and natural ball skills from the hardwood (where he averaged 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals) look to be a natural fit together, giving the Bears a flexibility with how they replenished other positions and projected the future.

Over the offseason, former tight ends Josh Malin and Sam Tecklenburg both made a move to theoffensive line. Incoming freshman BJ Thompson was also considered for tight end position but looks to have settled on the opposite side of the line at defensive end.

Is this a testament to where Wainright is as a backup to senior Jordan Feuerbacher? It's hard to not at least strongly consider the possibility.