Getting to know your 49ers: NN interviews LB Larry Grant
by Fooch on Jun 20, 2008
One of the 49ers battling for a roster spot is linebacker Larry Grant. In looking at the 53-man roster and the practice squad, there are ways he could fit into the roster and there are potential squeezes that could lead to the practice squad. After today, I have to admit that I'm officially rooting strongly for Larry Grant to make the 53-man roster. Thanks to Nate Haber of PlayersRep Sports Management I was fortunate enough to get some time to interview Larry over the phone. Haber represents Grant and had this to say about the young linebacker from THE Ohio State University:
"Larry has overcome a great deal of adversity in his life. The journey that he?s taken, from his early teenage years until now, has been a remarkable one. The 49ers fans are going to be very pleased with LG, both on and off the field."
Earlier this month Larry did an interview with sf49ers.com in which he discussed moving all around the country and keeping his family close by, even when he transferred out to Ohio State. I spent our interview discussing more of his time since the draft and his transition to the pro game. If I had to use one word to describe Larry, it's happy. He seems to love life and really enjoys living it to the fullest. From my short time chatting with him, he's definitely a guy for whom you want to root. More importantly, he's a Bay Area guy. Larry was born in Santa Rosa and spent his first two years of college at City College of San Francisco. I actually interviewed him shortly after he had finished working out with his old CCSF team.
One quick note: Aside from email interviews with Matt Barrows, this was my first interview for Niners Nation (and really for anything). Needless to say I was a little nervous and it may come through in the Q&A. I missed out on a few questions I'd been planning on asking but I'm hoping to follow up with Larry after we get through training camp.
Niners Nation: Obviously the best part is that you're a life long 49ers fan from what I've read
Larry Grant: Of course, you gotta be. Everybody should be!
NN: As a Bay Area guy, how excited were you to be drafted by the 49ers?
LG: It was a great feeling. it was actually a feeling I've been waiting to feel all my life. Just growing up a 49ers fan and actually diehard. Not only me, but my whole family, it was a true blessing. The feeling was great.
NN: Being a fan, is it difficult switching from following the team to being a teammate of guys you've been watching on tv the last few years?
LG: It's not really too difficult. I went to Ohio State and there were guys there I watched on tv and had seen them play. Before I even got to junior college there were guys when I came to games I'd watched them play. Once I got there, you gain this different kind of comraderie and family with all these players that you watched and you see the real side of them. They're bringing me in right and everybody's cool with everybody. And it seems like I'm getting along with everybody and they're basically helping me and taking my hand and bringing me right along.
NN: What was draft weekend like for you?
LG: The first day I watched it b/c one of my fellow teammates at OSU, Vernon Gholston was a first round pick. I watched the first couple picks to see where he'd go because I was pretty excited for him. I wanted him to go a little higher than what he did but it was in God's plan for him to go to the Jets. We just sat around basically after he got picked; we just turned the Wii video game on the big screen at my grandma's house. Everybody was playing: running track and playing golf and having little tournaments. Basically having a whole bunch of family time and just conversing with everybody and the old folks kickin it with the old folks and the youngins, the kids with the kids and everybody in the middle with everybody in the middle. We were basically relaxing and having a lot of good times with my family.
