Michigan Wolverines–No. 78 | |
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Position | Defensive tackle |
Class | Junior |
Personal information | |
Born: | Merrillville, Indiana, U.S. | October 27, 2003
Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Weight | 339 lb (154 kg) |
Career history | |
College |
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Bowl games | |
High school | Merrillville (Merrillville, IN) |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Kenneth Grant (born October 27, 2003) is an American football defensive tackle for the Michigan Wolverines. In 2023, he earned All-Big Ten honors and won the national championship.
Grant was born in 2003 in Merrillville, Indiana, the son of Kenneth Grant Sr. and Ewana Chatman. He attended Merrillville High School, where he played football as an offensive and defensive lineman. He also competed in the shot put for the track and field team.
As a senior, he totaled 38 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and blocked 8 kicks (four field goal attempts, two punts, and two extra point attempts), helping lead Merrillville to an undefeated regular season and a 12-1 overall record. [1] Grant was rated as a four star recruit, the #3 ranked player in Indiana, and the #102 overall ranked high school player in the country in 2022. [2]
Grant committed to the University of Michigan in September 2021, and enrolled in July 2022. [3] [4] In the 2022 season, Grant appeared in all 14 games on special teams and defensive line. [1] Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh called Grant "a gift from the football gods." [5] In August 2022, he was included on Bruce Feldman's annual list of college football "freaks". [6] He finished the season with 8 tackles.
Entering the 2023 season, Grant lost 20 pounds, dropping from 359 pounds to 339 pounds. [5] He won Defensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts in the season opener against East Carolina. [1] In the second game of the season, he tallied 4 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a batted ball and his first career sacks (1.5) against UNLV on September 9, 2023. [7]
On November 11, 2023, Grant chased down Penn State running back Kaytron Allen from behind to make a tackle and prevent a touchdown. The video of the 339-pound Grant chasing and tackling Allen went viral. Coach Jim Harbaugh called it "maybe one of the best plays ever." [8] [9] [10]
Grant helped Michigan win a national championship at the conclusion of the 2023 season. [11] He was named a second-team All-Big Ten selection for his contribution. Playing in all 15 games, Grant recorded 29 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles, and 5 passes defended. [12] Grant's interception on September 30 versus Nebraska was the first of his career. [13]
Entering his junior season, Grant was ranked as one of the top interior defensive linemen in college football prior to the 2024 season. [14] [15] He is considered to be a first round pick in the 2025 NFL draft. [16] [17] [18] In week four against the USC Trojans, Grant recorded two tackles, recovered a fumble and had his first sack of the season. [19] In week five against Minnesota, he had two tackles, a batted ball and a sack. [20]
James Joseph Harbaugh is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach at the University of Michigan from 2015 to 2023, the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014, Stanford University from 2007 to 2010 and the University of San Diego from 2004 to 2006.
Kevin Craig Brooks is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines. He was selected by the Cowboys in the first round of the 1985 NFL draft.
The 1986 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its 18th season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the team compiled an 11–2 record, tied for the Big Ten championship, outscored opponents by a total of 379 to 203, and was ranked No. 8 and No. 7, respectively, in the final AP and UPI polls. Late in the season, Schembechler passed Fielding H. Yost as the winningest coach in Michigan football history.
Craig Robert Roh was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Arizona for the 2008–2009 academic year and received the 2009 Scholar-Athlete Award from the College Football Hall of Fame. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines beginning in 2009, starting all 12 games at the "hybrid linebacker" position as a true freshman. He earned second-team all-conference honors in the Big Ten in 2012.
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