Mike Grant Season 1991

1992 (Senior)
Mike Grant played 10 games as a senior, including starts in the first five games of the year, before giving way to freshman Tommie Frazier. Grant completed 46-of-92 passes for 479 yards and five touchdowns on the season. He also rushed for 148 yards and six more touchdowns on 50 carries. Grant, who sat out the 1991 season as a redshirt, threw for a career-high 133 yards against Washington. He also had a career-high 68 rushing yards in the season-opening win over Utah. Grant helped the Big Red capture the Big Eight Conference title. NU also claimed the NCAA rushing title for the fourth time in five seasons, averaging 328.2 yards per game on the year. Nebraska also ranked second in scoring (38.8 ppg) and 11th in total offense (438.2 ypg), before facing Florida State in the 1993 Federal Express Orange Bowl.

A three-time letterman, Grant totaled 467 yards and six touchdowns on 119 carries. He also completed 86-of-178 passes for 1,086 yards and 11 TDs. He finished with 1,553 yards of total offense and 17 touchdowns. He played in 24 regular-season games with eight regular-season starts.

1991 (Redshirt)
After being involved in a four-way battle at quarterback in spring practice, Grant chose to redshirt in 1991. The other three quarterbacks – Keithen McCant, Mickey Joseph and Tom Haase – were all fifth-year seniors. Nebraska won the Big Eight title and earned a trip to the 1992 Federal Express Orange Bowl against Miami. The Big Red also claimed its third NCAA rushing title in a four-year span by averaging 353.2 yards per game, while ranking third nationally in scoring (41.3 ppg) and total offense (506.5 ypg).

1990 (Junior)
Grant was Nebraska’s starting quarterback in the season opener against Baylor but suffered a bruised knee and missed NU’s next two games. He returned to the starting lineup against Oregon State and Kansas State, before giving way to Mickey Joseph, who started the rest of the season. Joseph then suffered a severe leg laceration against Oklahoma, setting up Grant with another start in the Florida Citrus Bowl against Georgia Tech. It was Grant’s first college game in his home state. During the regular season, Grant completed 32-of-69 passes for 484 yards and four touchdowns. He also threw four interceptions. He rushed 42 times for 153 yards. He helped the Huskers rank second nationally in rushing offense (340.0 ypg) and sixth in scoring (37.5 ppg). 

1989 (Sophomore)
Grant was prepared to redshirt during his second season in Lincoln, but that plan changed in the third game of the season. He shared quarterback duties with Mickey Joseph and Gerry Gdowski for five games, before suffering a separated shoulder. Grant missed the final three regular-season games and the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl against Florida State. On the season, Grant rushed 27 times for 166 yards while completing 8-of-17 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. His top rushing game came with 55 yards on nine carries at Missouri. His best passing day came when he completed 3-of-4 passes for 40 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown pass to split end Jon Bostick. The Big Red won the NCAA rushing title by averaging 375.3 yards per game, while ranking second nationally in scoring (44.7 ppg) and third in total offense (513.3 ypg).

1988 (Freshman)
Grant quarterbacked the Husker JV team to a 5-0 record while compiling 912 total-offense yards – the second-highest total in Freshman/JV history, trailing only Turner Gill’s 979 yards in 1980. Grant completed 19-of-40 passes for 468 yards and 11 touchdowns with just two interceptions. The second-leading rusher on the team, Grant carried 64 times for 444 yards and seven touchdowns. He led the team in scoring with 42 points. He did not see any varsity action, but the Huskers won the Big Eight title and advanced to the Orange Bowl.

Brandon High School
A three-year starter for Coach Larry Bass, Grant led his suburban Tampa school to a 25-9 record from 1985 to 1987. He earned all-conference honors as a sophomore. Brandon High School ran out of an I-formation his first two seasons before switching to the wishbone his senior year. Grant, who also lettered in basketball and track, made recruiting visits to Alabama, Notre Dame, Purdue and Clemson before signing with Nebraska.

Personal
The son of James and Barbara Grant, Mike was born in Tampa. He has five brothers and one sister. He was a speech communications major at Nebraska, earning his bachelor’s degree from Nebraska in 1993. He added a second bachelor’s degree from NU in journalism and mass communication in 1995. Grant spent the 1993 season as a recruiting assistant at Nebraska, before serving as a graduate assistant for the Big Red’s national championship teams in 1994 and 1995. He has spent more than 30 seasons as successful college assistant coach.