Cyril Grayson saw his tireless pursuit of a career in football become a reality when he signed a three-year NFL rookie deal with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this month. At 5-foot-9, 178 pounds, the former LSU sprinter has been given an opportunity to play wide receiver for the Seahawks.
Grayson has been a standout sprinter at LSU over the past four years, earning four NCAA Championships, seven All-American finishes, an SEC Championship and five All-SEC performances. His PRs on the track are below:
Personal Records:
- 55m (in) - 6.48
- 100m - 10.88
- 200m (in) - 21.89
- 200m - 21.33
- 400m (in) - 46.51
- 400m - 45.91
- 800m (in) - 1:55.33
- 800m - 1:49.35
Grayson hasn't played organized football since high school in 2011 but chose to participate in the Tigers' Pro Day on April 5. In the interview above, Grayson said he never lost his desire to play the sport.
"It's always been a passion of mine," he said. "It was always the plan to play, but because of scholarship and different reasons of compliance, I wasn't able to play. So I've been training on my own doing things that I need to do to stay in shape and stay ready, for an opportunity like this."
At the LSU Pro Day, he posted a 4.33 second time in the 60m dash and did the three-cone drill in 7.02 seconds.
In high school, he was a four-time LHSAA state champion: once in the 400m outdoor, twice in the 800m outdoor and once in the 800m indoor. He was also a standout football player and posted 28 receptions for 731 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns in his senior season.
This is not the first time the Seahawks have taken a flier on a player who didn't play football in college. A year ago, they signed Western Kentucky University basketball standout George Fant, who is now in his second season as an offensive tackle.
We've been saying that football and track go hand in hand for a long time now, but this is just further proof that speed on the track can be transferred over to the gridiron.
Cyril Grayson saw his tireless pursuit of a career in football become a reality when he signed a three-year NFL rookie deal with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this month. At 5-foot-9, 178 pounds, the former LSU sprinter has been given an opportunity to play wide receiver for the Seahawks.
Grayson has been a standout sprinter at LSU over the past four years, earning four NCAA Championships, seven All-American finishes, an SEC Championship and five All-SEC performances. His PRs on the track are below:
