New Orleans Saints QB coming to UF to train with Jim McElwain
By Andrew Olson
Published:
A quarterback who threw for 7,702 yards in two seasons is coming to Gainesville, but he doesn’t have any college eligibility left.
Former Colorado State QB Garrett Grayson will train at UF with Jim McElwain, the head coach for his final three seasons at CSU.
It will be the first time McElwain has worked with a former player a la Petyon Manning and coach David Cutcliffe. McElwain told ESPN’s Mike Triplett it’s about the commitment to his players, even after they leave school.
“It’s one of those deals that when you get into coaching, you really mean that you’re gonna be there for these guys and help in any way you can, even after they’re done playing for you. This is just an example of that,” McElwain said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys in the organization that are helping him. It’s all hands on deck. And that’s how we kind of treat people — whatever we can do to help ’em.
“But I told him now, I’m gonna put him on a schedule. So he better not miss anything because then he’s gotta deal with me.”
Grayson, who struggled in his second preseason and was placed on the New Orleans Saints practice squad, says what McElwain offered exceeded his expectations.
“The fact that he’s doing that shows what kind of person he is,” Grayson said. “That’s why I have so much respect for him, and I thank him so much for everything that he’s done for me.”
While working with his former player will likely make for a great recruiting pitch for McElwain, Florida fans could potentially be critical of the coach spending his time with someone who cannot help the Gators. There are substantial breaks between bowl practice, spring practice and fall camp, but McElwain is paid by UF’s athletic association to be working as head coach of the football team year around.
When McElwain joined Florida in December 2014, he acknowledged the need to “recruit daily or die.” The first two classes under McElwain were ranked No. 21 and No. 12 on the 247Sports Composite, behind annual opponents FSU (No. 3, No. 2), Georgia (No. 5, No. 8) and LSU (No. 6, No. 3).
The Gators are currently No. 24 in the recruiting rankings, and will need a lot of good news on National Signing Day to potentially crack the top-15. One of the current 15 commits is 3-star quarterback Jake Allen, who McElwain hopes to develop like Grayson, a 3-star recruit in the class of 2010.
Grayson played sparingly in his freshman and sophomore years, but turned the corner in 2013, his second season with McElwain, when he threw for 3,696 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He improved this numbers in his season (4,006 passing yards, 32 TD, 7 INT) and punched his ticket to the NFL (pick No. 75 overall by New Orleans).
Florida fans will cautiously hope that McElwain has time to recruit daily while he helps Grayson get his groove back.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
