Enshrined: Out to Find the Best the World Can Offer
Always looking for the positive, Grayson finds it around the globe
Mike Brohard
What he learned at Colorado State, Garrett Grayson has carried forward.
Certainly there are the memories, as well as the education he received, but the lessons on the football field and in the locker room have been priceless. Not everything was easy for him when he arrived from Washington. No clear path to the quarterback job, and even when he won a new staff over, the ease of which he played the position in a stellar career took time to polish.
Life has been the same way for the 2014 Mountain West Male Athlete of the Year and third-round NFL Draft pick. See the time in life for what it is and never lose sight of the positives.
“I try to be. It’s easier said than done at times, but I try to be as positive as I can,” Grayson said. “I think life is better that way.
“There have been some obstacles for sure. You go through ups and downs and meet people with different backgrounds. I always tell people if the world could walk into a football locker room and see what it’s like to have a common goal and everybody working for that common goal, it would be beneficial. You have guys from Florida raised in the hood, or in the backwoods of Texas and they all get along great. Everyone knows the mission. I tell people, I wish people around the world could walk into those locker rooms and see what it’s like, because it really is a special thing. It’s helped me get through a lot of phases in my life to get through obstacles in my life.”
Grayson is part of the five-member 2024 CSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class. When his CSU career was done, he held 20 school passing records and was the first player for whom the communications department built a Heisman Trophy campaign. The 2014 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year threw for 9,191 yards, which remains the record. He was on the Nye Trophy as CSU’s best male athlete and spent two five seasons in the NFL.
The class will be inducted Oct. 11, part of the Ram Good Time Gala and the Ram Good Time Weekend. The Gala, which will also include the Ram Good Time Auction, begins at 5 p.m., with registration currently open for the event. The following day, the inductees will take part in the Ram Legends tailgate with President Amy Parsons and Director of Athletics John Weber before being introduced to the Canvas Stadium crowd as the football team hosts San Jose State (1:30 p.m. kickoff).
Just because aspects in life don’t come easy doesn’t mean they aren’t worth the fight, which is what his CSU coach Jim McElwain admired most about Grayson – his ability to persist.
“He had that injury his sophomore year and he was going through some tough times with that. To see how he came out of that, he was a guy whose teammates really respected him,” said McElwain, currently at Central Michigan. “At that position of quarterback, that’s a huge thing right there. He was a much better athlete than he was probably given credit for. He could run, and he really dove into what the offensive staff was trying to put together. I think he became a really good student of the game, and that’s what helped him.
“I really think in some ways, in a weird way, when things arent easy and you’re able to have success on the back end, it really makes you appreciate things a lot more. In his case, him dealing with some of those things and then coming back and being a great player – not a good player, a great player – I think that speaks to who he was. His self-awareness was No. 1. No. 2 was his want and drive, and I think that’s what made him great.”
The biggest thing for me is I like to immerse myself in the culture and I enjoy seeing different ways of life.Garrett Grayson
Grayson has been busy in the business sector after his football career, currently working for the commercial real estate brokerage firm Commercial Plus. It’s a career he’s proud of, but he still looks forward to time away and using it to find new places.
Those trips are where he’s found true joy.
“I think the first thing that comes to mind is I love to travel. I like experiencing new cultures,” he said. “My girlfriend and I just went to Türkiye and Greece in July, and I’m taking my mom for her 60th birthday present and my stepdad for his retirement gift to Scotland and Ireland and Germany at the end of September. We get back right before the Hall of Fame game, so that’s good.
“The biggest thing for me is I like to immerse myself in the culture and I enjoy seeing different ways of life. I’ve taken up hobbies, like golf recently, and God knows I’m absolutely awful. It’s fun to play, but it’s frustrating at times. I think it’s a stick and a ball and I can’t seem to get it to go straight.”
There are places he’s found in his travels where he believes the people have found the proper balance of work and play, of respect for themselves and those in the community.
If there’s ever a time when Grayson appears to have fallen off the face of the Earth, it’s quite likely you will find him in Bali, the Philippines or Indonesia.
“I went to Bali and the Philippines two years ago. Being there, the people were so incredibly nice, and the food was amazing,” he said. “I remember leaving there and thinking everyone you met, even people who technically weren’t from Indonesia – there’s a lot of Australians who have moved there because of that. It’s everything. You never felt in danger. A ton of people I talked to there said you could leave your wallet on your scooter seat, and no one will touch it because people don’t do that. They’re taught from an early age you don’t steal. There’s hardly any crime. I thought that was pretty cool to see.
“We know what’s going in our country and countries around the world, but there’s still countries like that where it’s such an important piece of their life.”
The call to the hall stunned him, left him a bit speechless. His excitement amplified a bit when he found out teammate Rashard Higgins was also being inducted.
The two fit so well with the Rams, it only seems natural.
“When I found out he was going in, I contacted him right away. It added to it,” Grayson said. “It made me look back. He’s a big reason I’m in the position that I’m in and was selected. There are a ton of guys I can thank individually, and the team as a whole, but him specifically. The connection that we had … I’ve told stories over the years about what it was like playing with him and have that go-to receiver. I tell people it was something I had never experienced in my life before college or beyond in the NFL, to have that guy where you knew when you delivered the ball, he was going to get it. It’s a feeling, and I can’t even describe it.”
It's a bit different than roaming the streets in a foreign country, but they both have their merits, and for Grayson, bringing back positive memories to help carry him through.
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