Kevin Lee Grady, Jr. (born June 24, 1986) is a former American football running back. He completed his athletic eligibility for the Michigan Wolverines football team during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. He began his Michigan career as a tailback, but was converted to fullback. He has also played for the Chicago Slaughter of the Indoor Football League.
In high school, he led his team to consecutive Michigan High School Athletic Association Championships. Along the way, he established numerous Michigan High School Athletic Association career football rushing records while playing for East Grand Rapids High School, many of which still stand. He was also widely regarded as the best junior class high school football player in the nation during the 2003 high school football season.
At the University of Michigan, he became the school's first athlete to graduate high school a semester early in order to participate in Spring football practice. He was Mike Hart's backup at tailback during his first two years at Michigan. He missed his third year due to injury and returned to play fullback during his final two years of eligibility.
High school career
Grady was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. During high school, Grady was a four-year varsity starter at East Grand Rapids High School. There he earned many honors and achievements, including being named All-State and the title of EA Sports junior player of the year. He led East Grand Rapids to consecutive state Division 3 football championships. He was one of the top high school running backs in the nation in high school on par with Jonathan Stewart, Rashard Mendenhall, Marlon Lucky, Antone Smith and Jamaal Charles. He was a 5-star blue chip recruit ranked among the top 5 running backs in the nation according to both Scout.com and Rivals.com. He holds the following Michigan High School Athletic Association records: Most career rushing yards (8,431) Most career touchdowns (151) Most career points (924) Most career rushing attempts (1,154)
He formerly held the following record: Most consecutive games with 100 yards rushing (24)
Grady did not consider any other schools en route to signing with Michigan.
College career
Although football players had been enrolling early at Bowl Championship Series (BCS) programs for several years, Grady was the first University of Michigan football player to do so. In subsequent years several other players followed his lead, including Justin Boren and Carlos Brown the following year. By graduating high school early, he was able to attend the 2005 Rose Bowl and participate in 2005 Spring football practice.
Freshman year (2005) As a freshman in 2005, Grady rushed 121 times for 483 yards and five touchdowns as a backup and injury replacement for starter Mike Hart, who only played in eight games due to injuries. Grady also caught 14 passes for 113 yards receiving. One of his touchdowns gave Michigan an 18–12 lead in the third quarter of the Ohio State game. In the end Grady made two starts at tailback, and was one of only six freshman to have played for the 2005 Michigan Wolverines football team.
Sophomore year (2006)
Based on his performance during 2006 spring practice, Grady received the John F. Maulbetsch Award. In 2006, he entered the season as Hart's primary backup, ahead of senior Jerome Jackson, freshmen Brandon Minor, and Carlos Brown on the depth chart. On opening day, Grady's five carries were second on the team, but some questioned why his total was so low. As the season progressed, he remained second on the depth chart, seeing limited playing time due to injuries as well as starter Mike Hart being healthy and starting all thirteen games. Grady rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns on 55 carries and added one reception for eight yards. His net rushing yards from scrimmage ranked fourth on the 2006 Michigan Wolverines football team.
Junior year (2007) Prior to spring football practice in 2007, Grady switched his jersey number from 3 to 24, his high school number and the day on which he was born. Later that year he was converted to fullback. During a scrimmage in early April, Grady tore his anterior cruciate ligament. On April 16, 2007, he had surgery. He would miss the entire 2007 season recovering from his injuries; by making use of a redshirt year, however, he was able to not use up a year of eligibility.
Junior (redshirt) year (2008) In 2008, Rich Rodriguez replaced Lloyd Carr as head coach. During spring football, Grady was still recovering from injuries.
