Colts 2022 Draft Interviews: Nick Grant, DB, Virginia

Meet Virginia defensive back Nick Grant. We talked about his long road to starting, his versatility to play multiple positions, and how he would sell himself to NFL teams.

Nick Grant is a former three-star recruit out of Courtland High School in Spotsylvania, Virginia. He opted to remain close to home out of high school by attending Virginia University.

I asked him what went into the decision to attend UVA:

I always wanted to go to UVA anyway, because my mom is a teacher and my dad has been to school for various degrees. Education was always a premiere thing in my family and I really discovered the value of a UVA degree when I was in high school.

Honestly, my two dream schools were UVA and Stanford. I couldn't imagine moving out to the west coast, even when I was 18, so UVA was just a dream come true for me.

Grant had a long road to seeing time on defense at Virginia. He redshirted in 2016 and spent most of the 2017 and 2018 seasons as a core special teams player. He finally got his chance in 2019, though, and went on to start/play significant snaps in the final 35 games of his career.

I asked him about that waiting process and if it was tough for him to stay in one place when he wasn't really seeing playing time:

Like a lot of things in college football, waiting is a touchy subject. So many players are quick to leave due to circumstances and look for other opportunities. Something that helped, for me, is that I knew my chance would come if I just kept working hard.

Honestly, I really really wanted my degree more than anything. Football wasn't even as hard as my schoolwork, so I knew that if I kept working hard, I was going to get on the field and make an impact.

Having that faith that one day I was going to get my shot really helped me. When that day came, I just felt very blessed. I told everyone that my first pick was going to be a pick-6. That is actually what happened too in the year that I started starting.

That right there was more rewarding than anything, because this was a dream come true and I kind of prophesied it for all these years. That coming to fruition when it did was so rewarding to see my hard work pay off.

Grant finished his college career with 138 tackles, six tackles for a loss, 24 pass deflections, and four interceptions in his three years as a starter. His hard work was further rewarded by an invite to the East-West Shrine Bowl this offseason.

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Top Performer Video
UVA's defense with another stellar performance including a massive pick six from Nick Grant. #GoHoos #TheStandard pic.twitter.com/zHkAafFaF1

— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) September 7, 2019

Cornerback or Safety?

Grant started all of the 2019 and 2020 seasons at cornerback for the Cavaliers. In 2021, he switched to the safety position. This was interesting to me because Grant (at 6'3" 185 pounds) has more of the size and frame that teams look for in their bigger corners nowadays.

I asked him about that transition and if he had any issues moving to a position that he hadn't played at all up to that point:

Yeah, so I started all of 2019 and 2020 at corner, and we had a lot of roster changes this past year. My skill set was more needed at safety and it led to me getting an opportunity at that spot.

I can honestly bring (my experience at safety) all the way back to 2017 and 2018. At that point in my career, I was a special teamer. So, I was doing anything that I could to get on the field in any way possible. I appeared in a couple games in 2018 as a nickel, some as a corner, some at safety.

Behind the scenes, from 2016 and on, I was one of those guys that wanted to learn the defensive playbook for every position. I really know every position on our defense and I would say that is something that translated over from my schoolwork. I have a passion for learning.

I already knew the playbook and the skill sets that it would take, and I was lucky to play alongside some great safeties. I've had guys like Quin Blanding, Juan Thornhill, and Joey Blunt play in front of me, so it really wasn't that hard for me to transition.

I then asked him which position he feels more comfortable at and which position teams seem to like him the best at:

I actually had this question come up a bunch of times at the Shrine Bowl. I would say that comfort is where growth dies in life. I am more comfortable at corner, but (and scouts have told me this too) I have a higher ceiling at safety.

Those man cover skills on the outside make me a bit unique. Most safeties are either box players or they are deep zone guys. A lot of safeties won't walk down and cover somebody, and I feel like those two years at corner really equipped me to cover a slot or a tight end or a X receiver at a high level.

I feel like, for me, at safety I can contribute more to the game with my skill set.

I am very excited to see all of our players at the @ShrineBowl this week, but one in particular is someone who I think has as much to gain as any prospect in the country throughout this draft process:

UVA's Nick Grant (@nxgrant)

— Owen Riese (@RieseDraft) January 27, 2022

Physicality

Grant's best attribute, from my study of his film, was just how physical he was coming down into the box as a safety. This was fairly surprising to me, because you wouldn't expect a former cornerback to be a tone-setter at a new position.

I asked him when he made this level of physicality a focal point of his game and if it helped him in his transition to safety:

I came into college at just 170 pounds, so I had to work to get a little bit stronger. At the end of the day, for me, football is a game of hitting and running. If you aren't willing and ready to hit, you aren't ready for football.

One thing you have to do, no matter the position on defense, is you have to be able to tackle. You gotta hit, you know? My mindset when I'm playing is that I know I have to do this, so rather than shying away from it, I'm going to do it at full speed.

It is not a matter of being physical, it is a job that you have to do.

Another important overlooked play: Nick Grant made a critical tackle on third-and-goal to hold Virginia Tech to a field goal. The play helped UVa maintain its first-quarter momentum. pic.twitter.com/76nzIED7vZ

— Bennett Conlin (@BennettConlin) November 30, 2019

Translating to the NFL

I have talked to hundreds of prospects over the years and the one thing I know from experience is that it is a tough road to make it in the NFL, especially for non-first round guys. Grant, however, seems better equipped than most to handle this journey.

He is a smart guy that understands the value of sitting back and learning. He has ample experience on special teams and can play multiple positions as a depth player early in his career. He is what every team wants in a later draft pick.

I asked him if all of these things bode well for his transition to the NFL:

For sure. I can even go back to my high school days and you could call my coach right now. One thing he always says to all of his players is, "Be like Nick." He means that in the aspect of me always being willing to play whatever.

I've played defensive end, linebacker, corner, safety... everything in my football life. I want to be able to do everything. I just hope that my film and everything I have going for me is noticeable to these NFL scouts. I hope they see a guy that truly loves ball and can just do it all for their football team.

Grant just has that "It" factor that will help him make it in this league. He is versatile, smart, and has good film to back it all up. Some team is going to get a long-time role player in Nick Grant in this class.

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Follow Zach on Twitter @ZachHicks2.

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