The Mountaineers By The Numbers: No. 4

A series breaking down the best Mountaineers to wear each jersey number at WVU

Through the years, West Virginia football has had certain jersey numbers become iconic through the play of the men who wore them. To honor this, Mountaineer Maven is beginning a new series entitled “The Mountaineers By The Numbers”, in which we will select the best player to wear each jersey number for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team.

This is an entirely subjective process and if you disagree, let us know! Every edition of the series will include one or more numbers, starting with number one, and running all the way until 100.

Up next,

Number 4: Steve Grant-LB (1988-91)

One of the most underrated aspects of Don Nehlen’s program at West Virginia was the recruitment of athletes from Florida, spearheaded by former assistant coach Doc Holliday. After standouts like Grantis Bell and Undra Johnson opened the door, the second wave of Floridians in gold and blue burst through led by Steve Grant.

An athletic linebacker out of Miami, Grant was a freshman on the 1988 team that reached the national championship game but his youth did not keep him off the field. The newcomer put together a solid season in reserve action with 31 tackles spread out over appearances in ten games.

With his fellow Miami native Robert Pickett graduating in 1988, Nehlen turned to his soon-to-be sophomore to replace him in the starting lineup. The youngster blew all expectations out of the water, posting a whopping 102 tackles during his second year in 1989.

The first great game of Grant’s career would come in week five of his sophomore season. In a vaunted top ten Backyard Brawl matchup at Mountaineer Field, the ninth-ranked Mountaineers hosted the tenth-rated Pitt Panthers.

For four quarters the rivals did battle in Morgantown with Pitt led by Grafton, West Virginia native Alex Van Pelt under center. Across the field the Mountaineer offense was paced by a 250 yard, four touchdown performance from Major Harris.

As the West Virginia defense fought tooth and nail, it was a pair of Miami natives who led the way. Grant finished the day as the game’s top tackler while defensive back Preston Waters accounted for two of Van Pelt’s four interceptions.

Despite the breakout showing by Grant, this game in the end turned out to be the infamous 31-31 tie with the Panthers. As his sophomore season came to a close exactly three months later in the Gator Bowl against Clemson, Steve Grant proved that he would be a force to be reckoned with in his final two seasons of college football.

Entering the 1990 season, the WVU defense looked to reload led by Grant while new standouts like Mike Collins and E.J. Wheeler joined the lineup. The first test for this group came at home against the Golden Flashes of Kent State.

In addition to securing a win, the now-junior topped his career performance from the prior year. As the Mountaineer offense continued to put up points even without Major Harris, Grant wreaked havoc on Kent State ball carriers and receivers with a new career-high 18 tackles.

That opener became the first of five double-digit tackles for the versatile defender, the last of which came on the road at South Carolina. While West Virginia stumbled to its seventh loss of the season, the best player on the field was the Mountaineers’ junior linebacker who put up the second-most tackles in a single game in school history with a new career-high 21 stops.

To cap off the year, Grant established himself as one of the very best linebackers in school history, topping 100 tackles for the second straight season with 141, four for loss and two sacks. His senior year turned out to be his best and the team improved along with him.

As the unquestioned defensive leader for the Mountaineers in 1991, the now-senior Grant dominated the opposition to the tune of 147 tackles with eight for loss and a pair of sacks. His final season included seven games with double-digit stops and at least seven in each of the 11 contests.

In his four years, he was twice named an All-Big East Conference selection and earned a Second Team All-American nod as a senior.

Following the end of his collegiate career, Grant became a tenth round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts and he went on to spend six professional seasons in the NFL, mostly with Indianapolis before a brief stint in Tampa Bay.

Grant now travels the nation as a Christian evangelical motivational speaker and previously served as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes team chaplain for Texas Tech. He is currently affiliated with Sports World, an organization founded in 1978 to allow professional athletes to share personal life experiences with students to help them recognize the consequences of choices and instill a message of hope.

Honorable Mentions

James “Puppy” Wright-LB (1991-94)

Jahmile Addae-DB (2001-05)

Wendell Smallwood-RB (2013-15)