
12-16-2007, 09:34 AM
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Head Coach
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Larry Grant to play in fourth straight college football title game
0-for-3, Larry Grant hopes to win; he already has to his family
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus- How did Ohio State senior linebacker Larry Grant reach four consecutive college football national championship games?
By getting out.
Six years ago, LaSean Woods, one of Grant's five older siblings, called from his home in Georgia. He had a message for Grant, his younger brother by 13 years, who was living in Sacramento, Calif., with his mother.
"You're coming with me, little brother."
Grant remembers LaSean saying what the whole family knew had to happen. And Shirley Woods, a single mother, realized letting one of her sons reach out for another was the best thing she could do.
"We didn't know what, but we knew Larry had something good ahead of him," Shirley Woods said. "He knew we'd be so disappointed if he got into the drugs and the gang-banging. We were in a gang-affiliated area, and we knew that LaSean could help him become a better man."
So 16-year-old Larry Grant left one home for another, moving across the country to a brother who worked two jobs to provide for him. It was the beginning of a journey from Sacramento to Norcross, Ga., to San Francisco to Columbus, with near-detours to Murray State and the University of Florida. Along the way, Grant has pulled off a rare championship quad.
During his two seasons at City College of San Francisco, Grant played in the California Community College state championship game, a de facto national title game with the winner typically declared the national champion by the junior-college poll of record.
Now he's playing in his second BCS national championship in his second and final year with the Buckeyes. Quite a feat. The only problem? Grant is 44-2 during his college football career in everything but title games, and 0-3 when going for it all.
"I haven't won yet. I haven't won yet," Grant said. "This is my last chance. I've got to come out with a big one this time. It's special at a point, but it's not special 'cause I ain't won one yet."
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To complete his odyssey, Grant has one more request for this last championship game.
"Just to win," he said. "That's all I want."
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