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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Getting Ram Tough: Grayson grew up to become Colorado State star

Road to stardom had timid beginning

By , Columbian Sports Editor
Published:

Garrett Grayson knew there would be tears.

But who they came from surprised him.

As he ran out of the tunnel minutes before his final home game as a Colorado State quarterback, Grayson looked for familiar faces.

There was his mother, Jody. It seemed like only yesterday she had delivered Garrett, fresh out of Heritage High School in Orchards, to Fort Collins.

“I knew my mom would be crying,” Grayson said. “She’s a crier anyway.”

When Grayson saw tears on the face of his father, Brad, that’s when the emotions hit him harder than a linebacker.

“He’s only cried about twice in his life, that’s when it hit me,” Grayson said. “I was hoping to keep it together.”

Grayson will play his final collegiate football game Saturday when Colorado State faces Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl.

From a football perspective, it will cap a senior season that saw Grayson burst onto the national scene.

Professional scouts will be watching. They have seen Grayson grow from an unproven college quarterback into one of the nation’s best. He is now Colorado State all-time leading passer, the Mountain West Conference offensive MVP and one of 18 players deemed Heisman Trophy “aspirants” by the Heisman Trust.

Brad and Jody Grayson will also be watching. But their perspective is different.

They have seen their son grow from a shy teenager who took slights too personally into a confident, assertive leader of fellow men.

It’s a metamorphosis thousands of young people undergo every year in college. For some it’s easy, others not. But Grayson’s happened before thousands of eyes on the grand stage of college football.

And it wasn’t always easy.

“A few times there, he really thought about hanging it up,” Jody Grayson said.

In a phone interview last week, Grayson was asked what he today would tell the Garrett Grayson that arrived on campus four years ago.

“I would probably say, don’t blame yourself so much for things you can’t control,” he said. “Don’t take things too personal. There were a few things that got under my skin. That made for some tough times. I had to learn those lessons and fight through them.

“And in the end, I’m glad I did.”

Growing pains

Grayson arrived in Fort Collins after having one of the best high school careers of any quarterback from Clark County. A two-time Greater St. Helens League MVP, he set Class 4A passing records and compiled more than 10,000 yards of offensive during his career.

At CSU, Grayson started five games to open the 2012 campaign, but had his sophomore season ended by a broken collarbone.

After the injury, he fell into a funk didn’t interact much with the team during his rehabilitation.

His junior year, Grayson had to win the starting job in fall camp. More importantly, he had to earn the respect of his teammates.

He credits coach Jim McElwain with helping him through that rough time, which included two poor performances to open the 2013 season.

“After those games I was pretty low,” Grayson told The Columbian last year. “I went up and had a talk with coach Mac … that kind of changed the outlook of the entire season for me. I knew after the games I played that he still had confidence in me. I didn’t eat there for about two days because I was so depressed.”

It wasn’t an overnight transformation, but Grayson started becoming more assertive with teammates. He earned their respect off the field and on, starting by completing a strong performance at No. 1 Alabama in front of 104,000 fans.

After starting the season 2-4, Colorado State won six of its next eight games for its first winning season since 2008. That included an improbable 48-45 win over Washington State in the New Mexico Bowl, which the Rams trailed 45-30 with three minutes to play.

Grayson’s 3,696 passing yards broke a school record that had stood since 1983. But that was just setting the table for his senior season.

This summer, he was invited to be a counselor at the prestigious Manning Passing Academy, where he learned tips from Peyton Manning on how to study film.

Those lessons bore fruit this season. With one game to play, Grayson already has set a new single-season passing record with 3,779 yards, which ranks sixth in NCAA Division I.

His 32 touchdown passes this season are nine more than the previous school record and his 64.8 completion percentage is a single-season high. He now owns every major career passing record at Colorado State.

The Rams are 10-2 and were ranked as high as 21st before losing their regular-season finale to Air Force.

“Anytime success is handed to you, you can get lackadaisical and not work as hard,” Grayson said. “I’m the person I am today because I had to work hard and fight for that job. At the end of the day, I’m glad it didn’t come easy.”

‘Roots and wings’

Saturday will not mark the end of Grayson’s football season or career. He will play in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 17 and the Reese’s Senior Bowl the following weekend.

Then will come pro-day workouts for NFL scouts and possibly a trip to the NFL Scouting Combine in February.

It will all lead up to the NFL Draft in April. Scouting reports on Grayson laud his size (6-2, 220), arm strength, his quick release and his ability to fit passes into tight spots.

Fox Sports projects Grayson as being taken in the second to fourth round and the fifth-best QB available. CBS Sports has him going anywhere from the third to fourth round as the sixth-best QB.

Back in their Clark County home, Brad and Jody Grayson expect to continue setting up their DVR to record Garrett’s games, even though they’ve seen most of them in person.

NFL scouts will evaluate their son on 40-yard-dash times and arm strength. But the Graysons have the parents’ pride of seeing their son make the grade in becoming his own man.

“There’s pride, fear, helplessness,” Jody Grayson said. “But it’s so important that they learn to be on their own.”

That doesn’t mean Jody won’t continue to offer motherly advice.

“Our philosophy is you should have roots and wings,” she said. “It’s important to stay humble. I tell him, whether you know it or not, there are tons of people who look up to you.”

Grayson might soon soar to the NFL, but he knows his roots are in Clark County.

“I get lots of direct messages and Facebook posts from home saying ‘hey, we’re pulling for you. We’re watching your games,’ he said. “I’m so grateful for that. I just want to thank everyone back there.”

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