From the Port Richmond native?s conversion to Boston College safety after a three-time Advance All-Star career as a quarterback at Curtis High, to the troubles that led to a 2012 transfer to Marshall University, to his current projection as an undrafted free agent, LeGrande is nothing if not prepared for another uphill climb.
?A lot of teams are telling my agent different things,? LeGrande said Tuesday after he completed a workout at Athlete?s Edge, the Miami facility where he and numerous other draft hopefuls hone themselves for upcoming Pro Day, All-Star showcase, and NFL Combine appearances. ?But after what I?ve gone through to get here, I always look at the worst-case scenario, and the worst case here is that I?ll go as an undrafted free agent.?
That?s not the most horrible thing in the world, especially for a 6-foot-2 safety whose anchorage of the Thundering Herd?s secondary during a 5-7 season almost didn?t happen because of some bad choices he made in his three seasons at Boston College.
LeGrande was suspended as a sophomore in 2009 for violation of team rules. On January 10, 2010, police stopped him for a missing tail light on his mother?s 2002 GMC Envoy outside a Stapleton bar at 1:40 a.m. Smelling alcohol on his breath, they arrested him for drunk driving.
Police reported a blood alcohol level of .164, just over twice the legal limit. He was arraigned for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle.
According to court records, the case remains unresolved.
Then, just days before the opening game of the 2011 season, with LeGrande penciled in as a starting safety, he resigned from the team at almost the same time as his roommate and fellow defensive back Okechukwu Okoroha, was dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons.
SAT OUT A SEASON
LeGrande sat out that season, finishing his communications degree in time at BC, and then transferred with Okoroha to Marshall and immediately became the Herd?s starting strong safety in 2012.
Undoubtedly, team executives will want to know the details of his troubles in the Eagles? red-and-gold.
?I just have to tell them nothing but the truth,? LeGrande said. ?I know I went through all this for a reason.
?It?s just that different things happened at BC. I got in some trouble at school. We got in trouble together. I was hanging out with the wrong people. I made some different mistakes. I wanted to start over at Marshall. But BC always supported me. I love BC. But I had to make a decision that was best for me, and I thought I could get what I needed more at Marshall.?
His brother and confidante, Shemiah, advised him to simply be straight with his questioners and tell them how much he?s grown from the experience.
?There was a lot going on back then,? the former Lion and Cardinals practice squad defensive tackle said. ?Our father died. He made some mistakes. But he?s into the bible now. He grew up.
?I keep telling him he?s got a lot of talent. He can play in the NFL.?
In his one-season stay with the Herd, LeGrande led the nation?s defensive backs with 132 tackles, a total which also put him eighth among all players. That earned him second-team status on the coaches? All- Conference USA squad.
LeGrande had his most outstanding game in a loss to Alabama-Birmingham, where he made 16 tackles, intercepted a pass, and recovered a fumble.
?I always knew my abilities, so 2012 wasn?t a surprise,? LeGrande said. ?I was just trying to do my job, make every play that came to me.?
AGGRESSIVE SAFETY
Clips of LeGrande show an aggressive safety who isn?t afraid to stick his nose into the run game, and has sideline-to-sideline speed. Still, the Fred Fugazzi and Al Fabbri Award winner from Curtis? 2007 PSAL city championship team has a ways to go before the draft services rate him among the top 300 players.
The Great Blue North draft report lists him as No. 21 among 128 safeties, but indicates that his stock is rising. According to the service, about 32 drafted or undrafted safeties actually step into an NFL training camp yearly, so LeGrande has a shot despite that fact that he was not invited Jan. 19?s East-West game. And he has not received an invite to the upcoming Senior Bowl or the NFL Combine.
For now, he?s focusing on his March 13 Pro Day at Marshall. He?s aiming for a 4.3-second clocking in the 40-yard dash and 25 bench presses at 225 pounds.
LeGrande said he won?t be particular about where he ends up, just as long as he winds up in somebody?s training camp. His dream of becoming an NFL quarterback ended when BC converted him to defensive back. His college career was rocky.
But he is determined to step through that NFL door, no matter the uphill climb.
?Making the NFL has always been a dream of mine, so I?ll do whatever I have to do,? LeGrande said.
?I told him, it only takes one coach to fall in love with you,? Shemiah LeGrande said. ?
Source: http://www.silive.com/colleges/index.ssf/2013/01/staten_island_college_football.html
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