Grothe’s insurance policy: Grant Gregory

By Darrell Laurant  |   Monday, March 31, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

South Florida Bulls
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!

The book on South Florida's 2008 football team goes something like this: The offense should be impressive again this fall, but the Bulls would be in big trouble if anything happened to Matt Grothe.

Well, maybe not.

The more that senior backup Grant Gregory plays, the more impressive he appears. In USF's third scrimmage of the season last week, the Athens, OH product completed his first seven passes and 12 of 14 overall for 143 yards and two touchdowns (one a 53-yarder to Donatavia Bogan).

Granted (no pun intended), Gregory was probably working against the backup defense. Still, it's not easy to complete 12 of 14 passes to receivers in motion with no defense on the field.

Moreover, the son of offensive coordinator Greg Gregory has proven himself in combat. In occasional duty in relief of Grothe last season, he was 17 of 30 through the air with four touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 165.70. Against Central Florida, his four completions gained 125 yards, including a 75-yarder to Carlton Mitchell.

Gregory was also a prolific passer in high school (over 2,000 yards as a senior, 4,000 for his career), and was picked for both the Big 33 All-Star game and the Ohio North-South game. In the former, he hooked up with Ted Ginn for an 82-yard score; in the latter, he reeled off an 80-yard touchdown run and was named MVP.

A bit small (6-1, 210) by today's quarterback standards, Gregory was only mildly recruited and initially signed by Indiana, transferring to USF after his father got the job there. Also a strong runner (85 yards on 13 carries in 2007), he is one of the team leaders in the weight room, and added to the respect he enjoys among teammates when he came back on the field against Syracuse last season after suffering a deep cut on the bridge of his nose.

It was just his bad luck that his career overlapped that of Grothe. But if anything happens to the starter, that could be good luck for USF.



Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article! (0)

About Darrell Laurant

Sorry, Darrell Laurant's bio is currently not available. Please check back soon!
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report