Richie Grant (born November 9, 1997) is an American professional football safety for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCF, and was drafted by the Falcons in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft.
 Grant in 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 27 – Atlanta Falcons | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | November 9, 1997 Lumberton, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach, Florida) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | UCF (2016–2020) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2021 / round: 2 / pick: 40 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2024 | |||||||||||||||
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Early life
editGrant was born and lived in Lumberton, Mississippi, until moving to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, when he was nine years old.[1] He attended Choctawhatchee High School, where he ran track and played defensive back and wide receiver on the football team. Grant was rated a two star recruit by 247Sports and committed to play college football at Central Florida over offers from Georgia State, Tennessee-Chattanooga, the Citadel and Kennesaw State.[2]
College career
editGrant redshirted his true freshman season and was in the defensive backfield rotation as a redshirt freshman.[3][4] Grant was named a starter going into his redshirt sophomore season and was named first team All-American Athletic Conference (AAC) after leading the Knights with 109 tackles and six interceptions along with three forced fumbles and nine passes defended.[5] He was again named first team all-conference after recording four tackles for loss, eight passes defended, one forced fumble and an interception the following season.[6] As a redshirt senior, Grant was named first team All-AAC for a third straight season after leading the team with 72 tackles along with 3.5 tackles for a loss, three interceptions, six pass break-ups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.[7][8] As a senior, he was a Jim Thorpe Award finalist and Bednarik Award semifinalist.[9]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11+5⁄8 in (1.82 m) |
197 lb (89 kg) |
32+5⁄8 in (0.83 m) |
9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.54 s | 1.54 s | 2.53 s | 4.27 s | 6.78 s | 34.5 in (0.88 m) |
10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) |
12 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[10][11][12] | ||||||||||||
Grant was selected in the second round with the 40th overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons.[13] He signed his four-year rookie contract with Atlanta on June 18, worth $8.3 million and a $3.4 million signing bonus.[14]
Personal life
editGrant's uncle, Terry Grant, played running back at the University of Alabama and for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.[2] At UCF, he studied sports and exercise science. As a freshman, he earned American All-Academic Team honors (2016–17).[15]
References
edit- ^ Helwig, Brandon (November 20, 2019). "Mississippi native Richie Grant looking forward to Tulane game". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ a b Hays, Chris (January 19, 2016). "UCF snags commitment from little known DB Richie Grant". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Helwig, Brandon (August 8, 2018). "Richie Grant ready to step up at safety". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Hays, Chris (September 18, 2018). "UCF defensive back Richie Grant racks up turnovers, represents Danny Wuerffel Country". Capital Gazette. Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ "The top NFL draft prospect for each Top 25 college football team". ESPN.com. April 20, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Murschel, Matt (December 4, 2019). "UCF's Brown, Davis and Grant among a dozen Knights to get All-AAC football recognition". The Morning Call. Retrieved January 30, 2021.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "UCF safety Richie Grant headlines Knights All-AAC honors". Orlando Sentinel. December 15, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Brugler, Dane (January 29, 2021). "Senior Bowl wrapup: Quinn Meinerz, Richie Grant and 10 other NFL draft winners". The Athletic. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ "Richie Grant - 2020 - Football". UCF Athletics. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
- ^ "Richie Grant Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ "2021 NFL Draft Scout Richie Grant College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ "Richie Grant 2021 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ "Falcons select safety Richie Grant in second round of NFL Draft". AtlantaFalcons.com. April 30, 2021.
- ^ Links, Zachary (June 18, 2021). "Falcons Sign Richie Grant". Pro Football Rumors. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ^ "Richie Grant - 2020 - Football". UCF Athletics. Retrieved January 5, 2022.