He played college basketball with Ben Simmons. Now he has an NFL tryout with this team

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers conduct their 2018 rookie minicamp this weekend, there's one player that doesn't have a ton of experience.

Meet former LSU basketball player Brian Bridgewater.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Bridgewater played one season of football as a high school junior and is among the 50-plus players getting their chance at an NFL dream with the Bucs' rookie minicamp.

"I just had more love for basketball. That's where my heart was at the time," Bridgewater told the Tampa Bay Times. "I always kept it in the back of my mind, that if things didn't work out with basketball, I'd try the football route and see where it took me."

Bridgewater, a tight end, played forward for LSU when Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons was playing for the SEC school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

While playing for the Tigers, Bridgewater weighed 280 pounds.

The Tampa Bay Times reported Bridgewater has dropped to 257 pounds.

As a high school player, despite only playing one season, Alabama coach Nick Saban recruited him, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

A Baton Rouge native, the 6-5 Bridgewater opted for the basketball court. However, he had an impressive pro day at LSU, according to SEC Country.

And that's led to Bucs' minicamp that begins Friday.

This story was originally published May 9, 2018 at 6:39 PM with the headline "He played college basketball with Ben Simmons. Now he has an NFL tryout with this team."