Charlotte, N.C. – After pouring 19 points for Southern Miss in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on March 4, Colin Granger returned to Team Hotel in Pensacola, Florida to have dinner with his parents and discuss his future.
In football.
Granger once told Chanticleers coach Justin Gray that if the coastal area plays unexpectedly in the conference championship, it would be that he will continue his basketball career overseas, where he received multiple offers from professional teams.
If that weren’t the case, Granger would be George Fant’s first client, a 10-year NFL veteran who started a business where he identified and trained college basketball players he thought could jump to the NFL, a transitional fantasy made in 2016 after leaving Western Kentucky.
So when the cherry bounced in the first round of Pensacola, Granger called Fant and told him to talk to his parents before he was on board. A month later, Granger worked out for five NFL teams during a private career day at his Atlanta-area high school. Three days after the workout, Granger signed with the Carolina Panthers, a tense situation in one of the most unconventional deals in its history.
Since Granger hasn’t been to college and at least four NFL seasons have passed since 2020 high school graduation, he qualifies for last year’s draft. This means the Panthers or any team can sign him as a free agent this year.
Shortly after ending contract with the Panthers on Monday, Granger ate lunch at the buffet restaurant at Bank of America Stadium and before her pre-predicted visit, three edge sprinters – Shemar Stewart of A&M, Texas, Donovan Ezeiruaku of Boston College and Bradyn Swinson of LSU. Granger told the group that he had just joined the NFL team despite not playing football since the eighth grade.
“I tried to tell them this story, and they just smiled in my face.” “They were like, ‘Man, come on. Brother, tell us what you’re actually doing?’ Transparent
What Granger tried to do was paved along a trail along Fant and other former college basketball players, including several high-profile tight ends. Fant believes Granger can leave his mark on Panthers’ tight room, which currently boasts Tommy Trmem, Ja’tavion Sanders and Jordan Matthews on the top of the depth chart.
“Don’t be surprised if we see Colin playing there early and appearing there often,” Fant said.
Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates (Kent State), Jimmy Graham (Miami) and Mo Alie-cox (VCU) all had a close end after playing basketball at college, with both Gonzalez and Gates becoming Hall of Fame. Gates and Alie-Cox (like Granger), did not play college football.
The 6-foot-8-inch, 240-pound Granger played football and lacrosse in eighth grade, when he was the first time he was fit for his middle school basketball team. Within eight months, Granger received his first basketball scholarship in Mount St. Mary.
“My first year of high school, I just stopped playing football. The principal football coach calls me to class every day, and he wants me to play football.”
But, besides the occasional comment from a strength coach about how he looks on the mat and helmet, Granger also forgot about football because he spent five basketball seasons at three schools (Ohio, West Carolina and the Carolina coast) all in five basketball seasons (he averaged 7.2 points, 4.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, including 2.0 offensive rebounds, including last season).
He then got Fant’s DM, who explained his background and said he was looking to work with college basketball players predicted for the NFL prospects.
“I saw it was a real account, that was a real NFL player,” Granger recalled. “But I was thinking, what? Change the sport? I’m trying to beat weird North Carolina tomorrow. I’m not worried.”
George Fant, second, has worked with Colin Granger in the Central for several weeks before signing with the Carolina Panthers. (Contributed by George Fant)
Fant played very little in Western Kentucky’s only football season, and he started his niche hunter business with his coach and agent. Fant began browsing the online database of each Class I basketball player, scanning their height, weight and statistics, and paying special attention to offensive rebounds. When he finds someone he likes, he looks for YouTube videos to see if their athleticism may play a role in the NFL.
“I just saw Colin popping up the screen on the screen. (Initially) I thought he might be someone who could play the offensive line like a lane Johnson guy,” said Fant, a free-experience offensive tackle with nine years of experience. “But once I took him to Kentucky and I saw him running around, I knew he was a nervous ending.”
After losing in the Sun Belt Championship, Granger returned to the coastal campus to pack his stuff, stayed at his parents’ house in Florida for a few days before heading to Fant’s home in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to arrive on March 10 midnight.
“He walked in the driveway, met me, and I moved into his room,” Granger said.
The pair spent 2 1/2 weeks working out at Fant’s home gym, while Fant and his agent Jeffery Whitney organized career day on April 4.
“He bought it right away, it’s the guy you don’t have to tell something twice,” Fant said. “Once you can show him it, he will learn it right away and get better.”
Granger’s coach in West Carolina and coastal areas Justin Gray predicts that Granger’s work ethics will be well received in Kentucky.
“When he got there, they assure you right away they saw his efforts, his dedication and discipline, like, ‘Man, this kid has a chance.”
“He played as hard as he could. He was a great offensive rebounder, defensive rebounder. The ball was in the air and he followed it. He was tough like a nail. He ate his nails at breakfast. He wasn’t soft, he wasn’t soft to him. Then he competed.”
The competitive attitude is great, but Granger still has to show his physical characteristics to the Boy Scouts. The Panthers, represented by professional scout Adam Maxie, came to Lambert High last Friday in Suwanee, Georgia, where Granger ran a 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds and extended a 40-inch vertical leap.
Granger, who worked out once former Georgia quarterback Zach Gibson, was very excited about the vertical jump but thought he was running faster.
“My 10 yard split, my 20 yard split during training and my number was 4.7,” he said. “I only had three weeks of training. My coach told me, ‘Man, if I go three more weeks, then you’re a 4.6 guy.’ I’m quick.”
Granger has performed only seven reps (225 pounds) on the pro bench, but attributes it to the difference in weight training in both sports. “I have muscles and can put it there,” he said. “But we haven’t been benching like this all the time.”
Fantasy is satisfied with the development of things. “I think the craziest part of this whole process is that we only have 2 1/2 weeks of training,” he said. “My coach, Jacob Davis, was able to master him and do the impossible and prepare for his career in two weeks.”
Granger was scheduled to play for the Atlanta Falcons local day this week. Instead, he signed a contract with their division rival, in part because Fant signed with Carolina General Manager Dan Morgan, coach Dave Canales and tight-fitting coach Pat McPherson from their time together, while Fant signed an unsigned free agent in 2016 and started 10 games.
Fant said he thanked Black Panther for giving Granger the opportunity and hoped he could make the most of it. “He’s a big guy, he can get the ball high,” Fant said. “He can catch the ball really, really, very naturally.”
Gray, a Charlotte native who played in Wake Forest from 2002 to 2006, believes Granger’s basketball skills will be transferred to the grill.
“Don’t get me wrong, I coach basketball. So I’ll assume Ball is in the air and he’ll jump up and get it at the highest point. He did it for us. He’s really good at offensive rebounding and being able to roll it back. Playing with people around isn’t a thing,” Gray said. “But it’s a different sport, man, it takes a adjustment period. But I know his discipline and his consistency, and he’ll be fine.”
Granger met with Chuba Hubbard while installing the equipment on Monday, and he said the biggest tweak will be learning the NFL script and getting used to the body.
“I’m so glad I’m getting hit. I used to love football. It’s a league of adult men. I know it’s going to hurt a little bit more now. But guess I’m big now and I’m just getting bigger.” “I just want to go out there and pop someone or pop up, put on my butt and feel it. Immerse yourself in the game. I’ve opened this hit first and I think I’ll be fine.”
(Top photo: Scott Kinser/Cal Sport Media via AP image)
