Denver Broncos

Broncos' James Casey turned baseball failure into an NFL success story

Published May. 14, 2015 12:08 a.m. ET

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The Broncos' new fullback used to throw a 95-mph fastball and a monster curve.

James Casey was fresh out of high school then. Now, he looks back on the path he took -- the one that led him from the White Sox farm system to Rice University to the NFL -- and admits it's been a whirlwind.

His story started as a prep star for the Azle (Texas) Hornets. The White Sox made an 18-year-old Casey their seventh-round pick in 2003 -- and gave him $120,000 as a signing bonus.

"I thought I was doing pretty well. I came from no money at all and when I got that check I thought I was rich," Casey told the Denver Post. "It was the most money I had seen in my life."

And he said that money and notoriety went straight to his head. As other farm system prospects flourished, Casey floundered. His baseball dream was dead three years into his pro career.

Casey was lucky that he had his high school quarterbacking experience to lean on when he wanted to try a different sport. He sent letter after letter, but only Rice answered to set up a meeting.

Casey found out he could come play for the Owls, but only as a defensive end.

"Of course I took it. I was nearing the end of the road," Casey said. "It was the first time I had ever put my hand in the dirt. It made me tougher."

Humbled, then-Rice offensive coordinator Tom Hermann (who would later find success as Ohio State's play-caller last college football season) plugged Casey in as a Wildcat quarterback. Then at tight end. Then at fullback.

Suddenly, the guy who came from a sport of five-tool players was becoming a football Swiss Army Knife. And with the Wildcat catching on in the pros, a 25-year-old Casey took his next shot at stardom.

"And I go from the absolute bottom of the barrel in baseball to getting drafted (in the fifth round by Houston)," Casey remembered.

Denver will trot Casey out at fullback to start off 2015. By the end, he'll probably play some tight end, some special teams, and who knows what else?

"It's been a crazy journey," Casey said as he embarks on his new opportunity in Denver. "Failing at baseball kind of eats you up inside. Luckily I had a chance to redeem myself athletically. And I'll never have any regrets."

(h/t Denver Post)