Boomer Grigsby

James Harvey "Boomer" Grigsby (born November 15, 1981) is a former American football fullback. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Illinois State. Grigsby was also a member of the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans.

Boomer Grigsby
No. 51, 46
Position:Linebacker / Fullback
Personal information
Born: (1981-11-15) November 15, 1981
Canton, Illinois
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:237 lb (108 kg)
Career information
College:Illinois State
NFL Draft:2005 / Round: 5 / Pick: 138
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:33
Receptions:2
Receiving yards:14
Total touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Grigsby attended and played high school football at Canton High School where he was an all-area linebacker during his senior season.[1] He was not recruited to play college football until an Illinois State coach saw him lifting weights in his high school's weight room.[1]

College career

Grigsby was a four-year letterman at Illinois State University. As a sophomore, he set a school record with 179 tackles and also recorded what would remain a career-high four sacks.[1]

The following season, Grigsby tied his own school record with 179 tackles.[1] He came in second behind only future Kansas City Chiefs teammate Jared Allen in the voting for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the top defensive player in Division I-AA.[1]

In 44 games (40 starts), at Illinois State, Grigsby recorded a school record 580 tackles to go along with 41.5 tackles for a loss, 13 sacks, six fumble recoveries, five forced fumbles and seven passes defended.[1] He was Gateway Football Conference Player of the Year, a Division I-AA All-American and Buchanan award finalist each of his final three seasons.[1]

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Grigsby was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round (138th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft.[1] On July 15, he signed a three-year, $1.067 million contract with the team.[2] It included a signing bonus of $142,000 and base salaries of $230,000 (2005), $310,000 (2006) and $385,000 (2007).[2]

In his rookie season with the Chiefs, Grigsby chose to wear No. 51.[2] He played in all 16 regular season games that year in a reserve role and finished third on the team with 19 special teams tackles.[1]

"Boomer Grigsby has as much presence at the position as anybody I've been around at the start of his career."

Gunther Cunningham,
Chiefs defensive coordinator[2]

Appearing in 15 games in 2006, Grigsby again ranked third on the Chiefs in special teams tackles with 18.[1] He missed one game that season with foot injury.[1]

Prior to the 2007 regular season, Grigsby was converted from linebacker to fullback.[2] The transition was chronicled on the HBO reality series Hard Knocks:Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Despite the position change and an injury to his ribs during the preseason,[2] Grigsby made the team.[1] He went on to appear in 13 games for the Chiefs that season including one start.[1] His first NFL reception came on a nine-yard pass from quarterback Brodie Croyle against the Denver Broncos on December 9, and he finished the season with two receptions for 14 yards.[1] He finished third on the team in special teams tackles (12) for the third straight season.[1]

A restricted free agent in the 2008 offseason, Grigsby was not tendered a contract by the Chiefs and became an unrestricted free agent.[3]

Miami Dolphins

On March 4, 2008, Grigsby agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins.[2] The signing reunited him with current Dolphins running backs coach James Saxon, who was Grigsby's position coach with the Chiefs in 2007.[1]

Grigsby won the team's starting fullback job in 2008 after incumbent Reagan Mauia was released during final cuts. However, after starting the Dolphins' season opener against the New York Jets on September 7, Grigsby was released by the team two days later in favor of free agent Casey Cramer. He spent the rest of the season out of football.

Houston Texans

Grigsby was signed by the Houston Texans on May 12, 2009. He was waived/injured on August 18 and subsequently reverted to injured reserve. He was released with an injury settlement on August 25.

Absence from football

Grigsby worked as a color commentator for Illinois State University's television coverage for the football team. Grigsby now works in medical device sales and lives in Las Vegas with his wife and three children.

References
  1. "TEAM: Roster Boomer Grigsby Profile". MiamiDolphins.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  2. "KFFL - Boomer Grigsby, FB". KFFL.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  3. "Free Agency Wire -- 3/1/08". Scout.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
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