Grier Humbled and Prepared to Make First Career NFL Start
Sometimes the road to success may have left and right turns and be awfully curvy at times, but when you look back it all makes sense. For former West Virginia star quarterback, this describes his path to the NFL perfectly.
Coming out of Davidson Day high school in Charlotte, North Carolina, Grier was one of the nations most coveted and prized recruits. In a playoff game against Harrell's Christian Academy, Grier threw for 834 yards and 10 touchdowns setting a national high school record.
He had several options to choose from during his recruiting process, including the likes of Arkansas, Auburn, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Tennessee, Wake Forest and several others. He ultimately chose the University of Florida and after redshirting during his freshman year, he was expected to become the next face of the Gators football program.
Six games into his career as the Florida starter, he had everything going for him. He led Florida to a 6-0 record, a top 10 ranking and an unbelievable comeback win over rival Tennessee. Everything seemed to be sailing right along right before it wasn't. News came out of Gainesville that Grier had been suspended for one year by the NCAA for violating their policy on performance enhancing drugs. The supplement that Grier took was something that he bought over the counter at a local GNC store and the ingredients did not show on the NCAA's banned list. It was not Grier's intention to violate the NCAA's policy, but once again, things happen for a reason.
Grier intended to stay at Florida throughout the entirety of the suspension, but after meeting with then Florida head coach, Jim McElwain, the two parties decided it was best if he transfer and get a fresh start.
It all makes sense that a not-so straight path to the NFL would involve a three year pit stop down West Virginia's country roads. Grier held interest from several teams during the transfer process including Ohio State, but found his new home nestled in the hills of West Virginia.
The Will Grier era in Morgantown may have been the most anticipated debut of a player in years and it did not take him long to become a fan favorite. In his debut as a Mountaineer, Grier led the Mountaineers to a near comeback victory against rival Virginia Tech before running out of time.
Year one at West Virginia was expected to be not necessarily a rebuilding year, but a year to build for 2018. The Mountaineers nearly upset No. 8 TCU in Fort Worth, but due to some questionable calls from the officials near the end, West Virginia fell short of the upset bid. What may have been the highlight of the season was the team's comeback win over Texas Tech on homecoming. The Mountaineers trailed by 18 at one point before Grier and the offense got clicking and the Red Raiders did not have an answer.
The 2017 season came to an abrupt end for Will Grier as he broke his finger during a game against Texas extending the ball for the pylon trying to reach the end zone for a touchdown.
The injury had many worried. Could he be the same quarterback again? Will it effect his throwing ability? Will it play mind games with his head? All these questions had Mountaineer fans concerned that a run at the Big 12 championship in 2018 would not be possible. However, Grier returned fully healthy and in his return to the field, he threw five touchdowns in a 41-14 route of Tennessee. What made his return even more special was that it happened at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. This was a place he had gone as a kid many times cheering on the Carolina Panthers and a place he would go on to call his job site in less then 10 months.
The 2018 season had a ton of hype. Not just surrounding the Grier for Heisman campaign, but the team as a potential playoff contender. Despite a mid-season loss to Iowa State, West Virginia put themselves back in the College Football Playoff picture with a thrilling come from behind win over Texas on the road. This is what Mountaineer fans will remember Grier for.
West Virginia's hopes at a Big 12 championship and a spot in the college football playoff fell short when they fell on the road at Oklahoma State and then lost a heart breaker to Oklahoma in a shootout in Morgantown.
Grier left West Virginia as one of the best quarterbacks in school history, throwing for 7,354 yards and 71 touchdowns in only two seasons in the old gold and blue.
A few months after the season ended, the 2019 NFL Draft got underway and with the 100th overall selection, the Carolina Panthers selected the hometown kid Will Grier. It was a surreal moment for not only Grier, but his family as well.
The selection of Grier made a lot of people around the NFL turn their heads. The Panthers already have a franchise quarterback in Cam Newton, but with injuries and a steady decline in performance, this was a sign that the franchise wanted to start preparing for life after Newton.
Insert Will Grier, well, sort of.
After an up and down preseason, Grier lost out on the backup role to Kyle Allen, who the team signed as an undrafted free agent prior to the 2018 season. The Panthers ultimately made the right move by drafting a quarterback as Newton's injury bug became relevant once again. Only a handful of games into the season, Newton was ruled out for the season with a foot injury. Then head coach Ron Rivera turned to Kyle Allen, who won his first four starts, but did nothing spectacular to help win those games. He just managed the game as best as he could and didn't turn the ball over. However, the turnovers would start to come in bunches for Allen, which would cost him his starting job.
The Panthers have lost six games in a row and have lost seven of its last eight. Head coach Ron Rivera was surprisingly fired and the team named Perry Fewell the interim head coach. After Carolina's loss to Seattle, Fewell hinted at a possible change at the quarterback decision. That change became official on Thursday, when the team named Grier the starting quarterback for this Sunday's game vs the Colts.
"I'm extremely excited just to get to go get that experience, gain that experience. Camp and preseason is one thing. It's a grind, it's a lot and I'm excited to actually play in a real game, where you play a full game and you go through what a game really is. I'm excited to get out there with these guys and try to get a win," Grier said about making his first career start. "I think the anticipation is pretty much the same. I think it's really the same game I've played my whole life and it's really just excitement and all I can do is all I can do. I go out there and give it my best for this organization."
When he was asked by a member of the media how he has handled not being able to play every week he responded, "That's part of the deal, you've got to prepare every week like you're starting and you may not. But you'd rather be prepared and not play then be unprepared and get thrown in there, so that's kind of the mentality I've taken all year," he said. "I think learning the offense in general just over time has been great and everything that comes with that. Learning how to play the game, how you watch tape. You know, a lot of my West Virginia tape is just me throwing the ball down field on almost every play and that's not necessarily going to work in the NFL," Grier added.
As you can tell, there's not much that Grier can't handle. He's been a class act all the way through and has handled everything like a professional. Former West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen even echoed that same sentiment last year, "He's a professional that just happens to be playing in college."
This Sunday, Grier will start the next chapter of his career as the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. His story has only just begun. What do you think will be next for Grier's unusual path to success?