CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After pouring in 19 points for Coastal Carolina in a first-round loss to Southern Miss in the Sun Belt Conference tournament on March 4, Colin Granger went back to the team hotel in Pensacola, Fla., to have dinner with his parents and discuss his future.
In football.
Granger had told Chanticleers coach Justin Gray that if Coastal went on an unexpected run in the conference tourney, it would be his sign that he would continue his basketball career overseas, where he had multiple offers from professional teams.
If not, Granger would become the first client of George Fant, the 10-year NFL veteran who was starting a business in which he identifies and trains college basketball players he believes can make the jump to the NFL — a transition Fant made in 2016 after leaving Western Kentucky.
So when the Chants were bounced in the opening round in Pensacola, Granger talked it over with his parents before calling Fant and telling him he was on board. A month later, Granger worked out for five NFL teams at a private pro day at his Atlanta-area high school. And three days after that workout, Granger signed with the Carolina Panthers as a tight end in one of the more non-traditional transactions in their history.
Because Granger did not play in college and at least four NFL seasons have elapsed since he finished high school in 2020, he was eligible for last year’s draft. That meant the Panthers or any team could sign him as a free agent this year.
Shortly after finalizing his contract with the Panthers on Monday, Granger was eating lunch in the cafeteria at Bank of America Stadium with three edge rushers on their pre-draft visits — Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart, Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku and LSU’s Bradyn Swinson. Granger told the group he’d just joined an NFL team despite not having played football since eighth grade.
“I tried to tell them the story and they just literally laughed in my face,” Granger said. “They were like, ‘Dude, come on. Like whatever, bro, just tell us what are you actually doing?’ ”
What Granger is trying to do is follow a trail blazed by Fant and other former college basketball players — including several high-profile tight ends — who carved out successful NFL careers. Fant believes Granger can make his mark in a Panthers tight end room that currently has Tommy Tremble, Ja’Tavion Sanders and Jordan Matthews at the top of the depth chart.
“Don’t be surprised if we see Colin out there playing early and often,” Fant said.
Tony Gonzalez (Cal), Antonio Gates (Kent State), Jimmy Graham (Miami) and Mo Alie-Cox (VCU) all became receiving tight ends after playing hoops in college, with Gonzalez and Gates both becoming Hall of Famers. Gates and Alie-Cox — like Granger — did not play college football.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Granger played football and lacrosse through eighth grade, which is when he first suited up for his middle school basketball team. Within eight months, Granger had his first basketball scholarship offer from Mount St. Mary’s.
“My freshman year of high school, I had just stopped playing football. The head football coach called me out of class every single day, and he wanted me to play football,” Granger said during a phone interview Monday.
But other than the occasional comment from a strength coach about how he might look in pads and a helmet, Granger had pretty much forgotten about football as he worked his way through five basketball seasons at three schools — Ohio University, Western Carolina and Coastal Carolina (he averaged 7.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, including 2.0 offensive rebounds last season).
And then he got a DM from Fant, who explained his background and said he was looking to work with college basketball players who projected as NFL prospects.
“I saw it was a real account, that it was a real NFL player,” Granger recalled. “But I was like, what? Change sports? I’m trying to beat freaking N.C. State tomorrow. I’m not worried about that.”
Fant, who played sparingly in his only football season at Western Kentucky, started his niche headhunter business with his trainer and agent. Fant started going through an online database of every Division I basketball player, scanning their heights, weights and statistics, paying particular attention to offensive rebounds. When he found guys he liked, he would look for YouTube videos and see if their athleticism might play in the NFL.
“I just saw Colin kind of pop off the screen to me. (Initially) I thought he could be a guy that could play offensive line like a Lane Johnson kind of guy,” said Fant, a free-agent offensive tackle with nine years of experience. “Once I got him to Kentucky, though, and I got to see him run around, I knew right away he was a tight end.”
Following the loss in the Sun Belt tournament, Granger returned to Coastal’s campus to pack his stuff, spent a few days at his parents’ house in Florida and then headed to Fant’s home in Bowling Green, Ky., arriving around midnight on March 10.
“He walked out in his driveway and met me,” Granger said, “and I moved into his guest room.”
The two spent 2 1/2 weeks working out in Fant’s home gym while Fant and his agent, Jeffery Whitney, organized a pro day for April 4. In between sets on the bench or during breaks in speed training, Fant would give other tips to a player who hadn’t been on a football field in nearly 10 years.
“Right away he bought in and was the kind of guy you didn’t have to tell something twice,” Fant said. “Once you were able to show it to him, he took it and learned from it right away and got better.”
Justin Gray, Granger’s coach at both Western Carolina and Coastal, predicted that Granger’s work ethic would be well received in Kentucky.
“I guarantee you as soon as he got there and they saw how hard he works and how dedicated he is and how disciplined he is, it’s like, ‘Man, this kid has a chance,’” said Gray, who just wrapped up his first season at Coastal.
“He plays as hard as he possibly can. He’s a great offensive rebounder, defensive rebounder. The ball’s in the air, he goes after it. He’s tough as nails. He eats nails for breakfast. He’s not soft, nothing about him is soft. And then he’s competitive.”
A competitive attitude is great, but Granger still had to show scouts his physical traits. The Panthers — represented by pro scout Adam Maxie — and four other teams last Friday came out to Lambert High in Suwanee, Ga., where Granger ran the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds and posted a 40-inch vertical leap, according to him and Fant.
Granger, who caught passes from former Georgia State quarterback Zach Gibson at the workout, was thrilled with his vertical jump but thought he’d run a faster 40.
“My 10-yard split, my 20-yard split all during training, I was running 4.7 numbers,” he said. “I only trained for three weeks. My trainer told me, ‘Dude, if I got you just for another three weeks, you’re a 4.6 guy.’ I’m fast. It’s the little bit of the mechanics that shave off those tenths of a second.”
Granger only did seven reps on the pro bench (225 pounds), but chalked that up to the difference in weight training in the two sports. “I’ve got muscle and I can put it on there,” he said. “But an Olympic lift like that, we didn’t really straight bench-press like that all the time.”
Fant was pleased with how things went. “I think the craziest part of this whole thing is we only had 2 1/2 weeks to train him,” he said. “My trainer, Jacob Davis, was able to get hands on him and do the impossible, and get him ready for a pro day in two weeks.”
Granger was scheduled to attend the Atlanta Falcons’ local day this week. Instead, he’s under contract with their division rivals, thanks in part to Fant’s ties to Carolina general manager Dan Morgan, coach Dave Canales and tight ends coach Pat McPherson from their time together in Seattle, where Fant signed as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and started 10 games as a rookie.
Fant said he appreciates the Panthers’ giving Granger a chance, and expects him to make the most of it. “He’s a big guy and he’s able to high-point the ball,” Fant said. “He’s able to catch the ball really, really naturally.”
Gray, a Charlotte native who played at Wake Forest from 2002 to 2006, believes Granger’s basketball skill set will transfer to the gridiron.
“Don’t get me wrong, I coach basketball. So I would assume ball in the air, he’s gonna jump up and get it at its highest point. He did that for us. He was really good at offensive rebounding, being able to dunk it back in. Playing with people around him wasn’t a thing,” Gray said. “But it’s a different sport, man, and it’ll take an adjustment period. But I know with his discipline and his consistency, he’ll be just fine.”
Granger, who met Chuba Hubbard on Monday while getting fitted for equipment, said the biggest adjustments will be learning an NFL playbook and getting used to the physicality.
“I’m excited to go get hit. I used to love hitting people in football. It’s a grown man’s league. I know it’s gonna hurt a little bit more now. But guess what, I’m big now and I’m only getting bigger,” he said. “I just want to go out there and pop someone or get popped, get put on my ass and just feel it. Be immersed in the game. Get that first hit out of the way and I think I’ll be fine.”
(Top photo: Scott Kinser / Cal Sport Media via AP Images)
