Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 30, 1991 TAG: 9103300129
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Humbled, the Virginia Tech cornerback begins his football comeback today determined not to let the chicken become his personal metaphor after spending a year on the sidelines.
"By sitting out a while, you get to sit back and watch a lot of things, and you get to think. And you don't take things for granted," said Granby, a senior from Virginia Beach who will take part in Tech's first spring practice today.
Granby entered last year as he will enter this year: An anchor of what appears to be a strong Tech secondary and a pro prospect who can boost his NFL stock with a good year. Last season, pro scouts - or anybody else - got hardly a glimpse of Granby because a collision with a teammate in Tech's first game broke Granby's jaw and put him in wires and braces for several weeks.
Granby received a medical hardship ruling and was allowed to play this year because he had played in fewer than 20 percent of his team's games, his injury was season-ending and he had not previously been redshirted.
Granby said he is stronger mentally and physically after missing last season, and Tech defensive backs coach Keith Jones said the only question is whether Granby, who was injured while making a flat-out dive at the ball, will be shy with opposing receivers.
"Spring will tell that - whether he'll hit like he used to," Jones said. "I would think he knows what's at stake for him."
Steak, Granby said, highlighted his first good meal - the first good meal he actually ate, that is - after his mouth was unwired. But before that was the Revenge of the Chicken.
"Everybody around me was eating all this good food," he said. "Once I got my wires cut, I said, `I can eat!' [The doctor] told me to be careful because the muscles in your mouth [had become weak]. So I said, `I'm all right.' So I went to get some chicken. I tried to eat it. No way. I couldn't eat it. I couldn't chew.
"Once I got it working real good, I got a big, fat steak. I was thinking, the tougher the better. Arrrgh!"
The Hokies hope Granby's food attitude mirrors his football one. Until his injury, the 6-foot-1, 198-pounder had played in every game of his Tech career - 34 in all. He is 11th on Tech's all-time interception list with eight; his next interception will tie him with Tech coach Frank Beamer for 10th place.
Granby's absence contributed to three different players starting at his position: Karl Borden, Scott Rice and Tyronne Drakeford. Borden and Rice have used up their eligibility, but Drakeford returns for his sophomore year as one of the better young players on the team, having made a splash with two interceptions against Virginia.
Granby, who said his jaw is fully healed, doesn't expect to be held back in spring practice. He spent much of his sit-out time last fall and winter in the weight room to keep in shape and, for example, said he has run as fast a 40-yard dash (4.52 seconds) as ever.
"The record speaks for itself," Granby said about Tech's secondary, which also includes standout safety Damien Russell. "You look at us on paper. . . . I'm anxious to see how well we'll respond and go out there and play. We have the kind of ability to dominate a game. For us to be successful this year, we have to do that."
By the end of spring practice, Granby said, he hopes to have proven that neither his ability nor his aggressiveness has diminished. He has gone so far as to begin considering the year off as a potential boost to his pro prospects.
"I have another year," he said. "That speaks for itself. What you do next year will mean a lot. [Scouts] won't lose interest. Along those lines, scouts might even think, [with] another year, he's a little better and more mature.
"[But] there are a lot of things I need to work toward now so I can be put in that situation then."
by CNB