College Football

Hoops-turned-NFL dream: Scouts like Senat’s upside

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:11 p.m. ET

(STATS) - Greg Senat participated in various community engagements while attending Wagner College. He worked with missionaries, boys and girls clubs, and summer youth groups.

"When you help someone out, you're the one who feels good," he said. "I think that's what we have to do as human beings, step out of ourselves and help others."

His willingness to leave his comfort zone also serves Senat as an athlete. Three seasons into his career on the Wagner men's basketball team, he approached football coach Jason Houghtaling about becoming a two-sport athlete at the tiny school on Staten Island, New York. With basketball coach Bashir Mason's blessing, Houghtaling was more than happy to accept Senat's offer.

Senat, who played football in high school, was originally targeted for tight end with the Seahawks, but the coaches liked what they saw when the 6-foot-6 big man was inserted along the offensive line at right guard. The rust came off so quickly that he didn't miss a start in his two seasons of football, finishing his final basketball campaign and college degree in between.

His green Wagner helmet reflected his playing status, but the raw ability has so intrigued NFL teams that Senat became the first Northeast Conference player to be invited to the East-West Shrine Game, and he participated in the NFL combine. Wagner's pro day on Tuesday - where he displayed good movement and clocked 5.27 seconds in the 40-yard dash - provided further evaluation before the NFL draft April 26-28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

"I think it will be challenging, I think it's going to be new," Senat said, "but I don't think it's going to be anything I can't handle."

While the attention has swirled in the months leading up to the draft, Senat mostly flew under the radar during his Wagner football career.

The physical side of the game wasn't a problem - if anything the power forward got into foul trouble too often on the basketball court. His athleticism and conditioning translated quickly back to football.

He needed to add weight and muscle, but didn't want to overdo it as a junior because he knew he would go back to basketball as a senior. He played football at 280-285 pounds as a junior, then 295-300 as a senior, when his basketball career was over. His 84-inch wingspan also served him well.

At the Shrine Game, Senat started for the winning West team.

"I just proved that I could play with these guys from bigger schools," Senat said. "I think people took notice of that."

Come the combine, he told his unique story to NFL teams: "Most of the feedback I got was positive," he said. "A lot of teams are very intrigued, very happy with the upside that I present. The (dialogue) with the teams was more just getting me on the board, seeing how much football I knew. That's the big question mark: Playing only two years, there's a lot of football that they think I don't know."

Some projections forecast Senat as a late-round selection, but he may have to catch on as an undrafted free agent. Other collegians have made a late basketball-to-football conversion and thrived in the NFL, most notably at tight end.

His NFL.com player profile acknowledges the lost time on the gridiron: "Senat lacks bulk, but looks the part in the uniform if he could add functional mass. Unfortunately, he looks better than he plays at this point and needs a great deal of technique work as both a run blocker and pass protector. Senat is a project who might be able to find a spot on a practice squad while he works on getting bigger and better."

Being considered a developmental prospect only motivates Senat more because he's convinced he will contribute at the next level.

He just needs the opportunity.