Brent Grimes Becomes Fourth Red Raider to Play in the NFL
Dec. 29, 2007
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Last Sunday, in a 30-27 overtime loss at the Arizona Cardinals, former Shippensburg University football standout and current Atlanta Falcon Brent Grimes became the fourth Red Raider to officially play in the NFL when he replaced rookie Chris Houston at right cornerback in the first quarter on the Cardinals' third possession of the game.
Grimes is one of three former Red Raiders currently playing in the NFL, joining Rob Davis '92 and John Kuhn '04, both of whom are with the 2007 NFC North Division champion Green Bay Packers.
The fourth former Red Raider to officially play in an NFL game is Ron Johnson '03 who appeared in three games for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2003.
In his first career game, Grimes finished the contest with a game-high 11 tackles, 10 of which were solo, while spending most his playing time covering Pro Bowl wide receivers Anquan Boldin (Florida State) and Larry Fitzgerald (University of Pittsburgh).
Originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Atlanta Falcons on May 16, 2006, Grimes spent part of the 2006 training camp with the Falcons before being waived on August 25 because of a groin injury. This season, Grimes was signed to the practice squad following training camp before being signed to the 53-man roster on October 29, only to be released on November 1 as the roster was restructured to accommodate injuries.
However, on November 7, Grimes was re-signed to the practice squad and on December 18, he was signed to the active roster for the second time.
Davis, Kuhn and Grimes account for 60 percent of former players from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) who are currently playing in the NFL. Joining the three are New Orleans Saints right guard Jahri Evans (Bloomsburg) and Cardinals' guard Reggie Wells (Clarion).
In addition, former Indiana (Pa.) standout Kris Griffin had played in 12 games this season with the Cleveland Browns until he was placed on injured reserve on December 5. IUP's LeRon McCoy, who was signed by the San Francisco 49ers on October 10, was released by the team on Friday when it signed former UCLA quarterback Drew Olson.
Davis, who won a CFL championship in 1995 with the Baltimore Stallions, is currently in his 12th NFL season and 11th with the Green Bay Packers. He is the second-longest tenured Packer next to Brett Favre, having played in 166 consecutive games (as of Sunday vs. Chicago Bears). Davis played in all 16 games for Bears in 1996.
Kuhn played nine games with the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2006 season after spending the 2005 season on the practice squad, but was released following the preseason this year and claimed on waivers by Green Bay on Sept. 6, 2007. He has played in all 14 games for the Packers this season, primarily on special teams, but has also seen action at fullback, more so in the last few games because of an injury to starter Korey Hall.
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