25 former college football players destined to be future head coaches
By Dante Pryor
19. Will Grier, former Florida and West Virginia quarterback
Like Hurts, Venables and the Swinney brothers, Will Grier is the son of a coach. Grier’s father was also a quarterback. Grier played quarterback like his father; it is possible the North Carolina native follows in dad’s footsteps once again and becomes a coach.
One thing is for sure, Grier has the pedigree and cache to be a head coach. Grier threw for 807 yards and 10 touchdowns in a single game in high school. Grier threw for a school-record 195 touchdowns in his high school career.
After being offered by schools like Auburn and North Carolina, Grier chose Florida. Grier’s time at Florida was rocky at best. Treon Harris and Jeff Driskell competed with Grier to be the starting quarterback in Gainsville. In 2015 Grier was suspended a year for PEDs and later transferred.
West Virginia turned out to be a blessing for Grier. The offense that then-head coach Dana Holgersen ran was very similar to what Grier ran in high school. Grier blossomed and threw for over 7000 yards and 71 touchdowns with the Mountaineers.
Those numbers aided Greier in becoming the third round selection of the Carolina Panthers in 2019 where Grier is a backup.
Being the son of a coach, Grier knows how to watch and break down film. Grier’s teammates loved playing with him as well. Maybe the younger Grier does following in his father’s footsteps once again.