Friday, July 14, 2006

Hornets to receive Clemson transfer (Former high school All-American pass catcher kicked off team last December)

DOVER -- As it turns out, the 79,000 fans crammed into Death Valley weren't enough for Kelvin Grant. It wasn't the local newspapers' headlines or the attention he was showered with on campus.

And, much to his surprise, it wasn't even playing for a NCAA Division I-A college.

It took Grant being gone from football completely to realize he just wanted to be where he belonged. Grant, a 6-foot-2 senior wide receiver from Clemson, said Wednesday that place is Delaware State, where he has committed to play next season.

Because Grant is transferring to a Division I-AA college, he will be eligible to play this season. First, he said, he must earn a 2.0 grade-point average in two summer classes he recently enrolled in at DSU.

The Hornets, 7-4 last season, are also awaiting word on sophomore wide receiver J.J. Bedle of Syracuse and sophomore running back Chris Strother of Central Florida. Both players recently committed to DSU and will also be eligible this season if they finish necessary course work in their hometowns.

Selected to All-American lists at USA Today and Super-Prep.com as a high school player at Camden (S.C.) High, nobody arrived at Clemson with more fanfare than Grant. He was considered a local favorite since he was playing for a high-profile state college with a passionate football following.

"It was like I arrived already," Grant said of his first year at Clemson. "But it was just the beginning. I had to hit rock bottom to finally see it all."

The bottom, Grant said, was having surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, then seeing his tension-filled relationship with Clemson coach Tommy Bowden escalate to the point that Bowden kicked Grant off the team in December for breaking team rules.

"I could say I got mistreated, but I could have handled things different," said Grant, once rated one of the top 15 high school players in the nation.

"It seemed like I was always in the newspaper doing something wrong," he said. "I just couldn't get over that hump. Then I got defiant. I pushed buttons. Eventually, they just said 'kick him out.' It was an awakening and it let me know I'm not 'the one.' "

According to NCAA rules, DSU coaches cannot talk about transfers until they have signed their intent to play at the school. Grant will do that once his summer classes are completed.

Listed in Clemson's media guide as one of the program's best all-around athletes, Grant played in 11 games in 2004 and ranked third on the team with 23 catches for 274 yards. That season, he played in the Peach Bowl against Tennessee.

In 2005, playing in just five games due to his knee injury, his numbers decreased to 10 catches for 84 yards.

"I've been nothing but underachieving my whole career," said Grant, who has one year of eligibility remaining. "I was very highly ranked [in high school], but I haven't done anything in college. I still think I can make an immediate impact."

Grant said following his ACL surgery last September, he hasn't rehabbed the knee as much as he should. He said he's been doing light workouts recently and is at about "97 percent." He believes he'll be ready when DSU players report on Aug. 6.

Grant will buttress an important position at DSU. Under the West Coast offense, the Hornets have only junior receiver Shaheer McBride (50 catches, 720 yards, six TDs), a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference first-team pick, to count on this season.

With Grant, and perhaps Bedle, added to the mix, DSU would have three solid starters on a team that averaged 142.3 yards receiving per game.

A youth coach of Grant's, now residing in Maryland, pointed him toward DSU. He said he's been nothing but pleased so far with the Hornets.

"After the knee injury, for a minute I wanted to give up," Grant said. "I wanted to start over and I don't want people to judge me off hearsay. This is my calling and I didn't want to miss it. I'm looking forward to being part of a team again."

Meanwhile, Bedle, a Keyport (N.J.) High grad, was considered to be one of the primary receivers for Syracuse before he was suspended last spring due to conduct detrimental to the team, according to reports. As a 5-9 freshman, he caught three passes for 28 yards on a deep receiving corps.

Once rated the No. 19 prospect in New Jersey by SuperPrep, Bedle won three state championships with Keyport and set the school record with 38 career touchdowns, according to Syracuse's media guide.

Strother, a 5-8 tailback from Carol City High in Miami, never played at Central Florida.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060713/SPORTS08/607130319/-1/NEWS01









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