The 5 Best College Football Players Who Also Played in March Madness

March belongs to college basketball, as anyone who took in even a few minutes of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament can attest. The event regularly provides plenty of thrills, and this year's version might go down as the best ever if what happened in the first two rounds continues.

The opportunity to participate in March Madness is a unique experience. It's something only a few hundred players get a chance to do each year. Some, if they're lucky, get to be a part of it more than once.

And occasionally you see someone from the football ranks make an appearance, two-sport athletes who might be stars on the gridiron but who are usually bit players when it comes to basketball.

There were no notable football players from the 2015 season who saw action in this year's tournament, though over time we've had some big names get on the court. These are the five best, ranked in terms of their college football greatness and not their level of hoops involvement.

5. Tony Gonzalez, California

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Tony Gonzalez may very likely be a first-ballot NFL Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible in a few seasons, having finished his career as the all-time leader in catches, yards and touchdowns among tight ends. But back when he was in college, Gonzalez was better known for his performance on the basketball court.

Gonzalez averaged 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds for the Golden Bears from 1995-97, while in football he had 89 catches for 1,302 yards and eight TDs in three years. His best numbers came as a junior in both sports, averaging 15.9 yards per reception with five TDs in 1996 and then pouring in 6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds as a 6'6” forward.

Cal's last Sweet 16 appearance came in Gonzalez's final year, averaging 13.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in three games. His best effort came in the second-round win over Villanova, when he scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

4. Ronald Curry, North Carolina

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Ronald Curry tallied more than 6,200 yards of total offense with 41 total touchdowns as North Carolina's quarterback from 1998-2001, starting games in all four seasons. He was the school's career total offense leader at the time, though Darian Durant—who he split time with in 2001—and three others have since surpassed those numbers.

North Carolina went 24-23 in those four seasons, the same number of wins the Tar Heels' basketball team had during the 1998-99 season, when Curry played sparingly as a freshman. He skipped the following year but returned in 2000-01, starting 28 games on a UNC team that won the ACC regular-season title.

Curry led the Heels in assists (4.3) while scoring 5.5 points per game that season, with a combined 16 points and 12 assists in a pair of NCAA tournament contests. He didn't score in UNC's lone tourney game in 1998-99, when No. 14 seed Weber State upset the third-seeded Tar Heels.

3. Terry Baker, Oregon State

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Before Marcus Mariota won the Heisman Trophy for Oregon in 2014, the most accomplished college football player in state history was Terry Baker. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1962 with Oregon State, becoming the first player from west of Texas to claim the award.

In three seasons with the Beavers, Baker threw for more than 3,400 yards and ran for another 1,500 while accounting for 38 total touchdowns. His final game, the 1962 Liberty Bowl, saw him score on a 99-yard TD run that remains the NCAA record.

From there, Baker returned to OSU's basketball team, where he was the starting point guard. He helped it to the 1963 Final Four after getting to the Elite Eight the year before. The Beavers have only been to the Elite Eight once since then, and this season they reached the NCAA tourney for the first time since 1990.

2. Julius Peppers, North Carolina

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Julius Peppers is in the top 10 all time in the NFL in sacks, the active leader with 136. That came after he had 30.5 sacks in three seasons with North Carolina, including 9.5 in 2001 when as a junior he won both the Bednarik and Lombardi awards before turning pro and getting drafted second overall.

That was the only one of his three years in Chapel Hill that he also didn't play for the Tar Heels' basketball team, since he was preparing for his pro football career. Otherwise, they could have used his size on the interior.

The 6'7” Peppers was a valuable force down low in both 1999-2000 and 2000-01, averaging 5.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 56 total games. In 1999-2000 he averaged 5.8 points and 4.6 boards in the NCAA tournament during UNC's run to the Final Four, including three blocks in a second-round upset of top-seeded Stanford.

Peppers was 13-of-15 shooting from the field in two NCAA tournament games in 2000-01, with 21 points and 10 rebounds in his final college game (a loss to Penn State).

1. Charlie Ward, Florida State

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The 1993 Heisman Trophy winner never played professional football, instead opting for a basketball career after starring for Florida State in both sports.

Ward was a two-year starter at quarterback for the Seminoles, in 1993 leading them to a national championship by throwing for 3,032 yards and 27 touchdowns. He split time with FSU's basketball team while preparing for the national title game, then switched to basketball full time after leading the 'Noles to an 18-16 win over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

With the hoops team, Ward averaged 10.5 points and 4.9 assists in 1993-94, and for his career he averaged 8.1 points and 4.4 assists in 91 games. Nine of those were in the NCAA tournament, including in 1992-93 when he averaged 8.3 points during a run to the Elite Eight.

Ward parlayed his hoops play into an 11-year NBA career, playing 10 seasons with the New York Knicks. He was their starting point guard for most of three seasons from 1997-2000.

All statistical information courtesy of CFBStats.com or Sports-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.