Danny Grant’s move to Troy works out well

Tired of terrible food and sleeping in hallways under the stadium, Danny Grant made the decision that changed his life and helped make Troy football history.

Grant, who starred at Carroll High in Ozark, wasn’t recruited by Troy University out of high school and chose to sign a scholarship with Chattanooga.

“Chattanooga wanted to play the big teams, but didn’t have the manpower,” Grant said. “We’d lose 50-0 and get paid a lot of money, but I don’t know where that money ever went.”

When Troy made a coaching change, hiring Bill Atkins to take over before the 1966 season, Grant knew it was time for a change. He and three teammates
from Chattanooga — Paul Brensfield, Alvin Deese and Bobby Enslen — tried out at Troy and made the squad.

The rest, as they say, is history. Grant, a wide receiver, set several school records and helped the team to a national championship in 1968. That year, Grant
had 72 catches for 1,002 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Saturday, he’ll be inducted into the Wiregrass Hall of Fame along with another Troy great, quarterback Sim Byrd.

Grant holds many Troy records, including career receiving yards (2,907), pass receptions (215), touchdown catches (44), receptions per game (5.2) and
touchdowns scored (45).

Individually, Grant holds eight other records and had the record for most passes caught in a season until Jerrel Jernigan broke that last year.

He blossomed under Atkins’ leadership, just as several others did.

“He had us doing things 15 years before Alabama and Auburn were, such as doing audibles at the line of scrimmage,” Grant said. “In three years, he turned the
program totally around.

“Winning that championship was all due to Coach Atkins, though having Sim at quarterback and other great players also helped.”

Grant was a four-year letterman and a four-year all-conference player at Troy. He won several awards at Carroll and lettered in baseball, football, basketball and
track. Among his accomplishments were breaking a school record with 20 touchdowns in a season his senior year and winning the Most Valuable Player
Award at the Peanut Bowl in Dothan in 1964.

Grant admits the big difference in 40 years of football since he last played, but said the Trojan teams now are similar to the Red Wave teams he played on.

“We really didn’t do the spread, but it was more of a pro offense,” Grant said. “We’d have three receivers split out and a running back. We threw the ball a lot,
but it was more drop back and not out of the shotgun.

“It was a great offense and I was excited when (former offensive coordinator Tony Franklin) put it in here (in 2006). It doesn’t work at every place, but it worked
for us and it works now. I caught so many passes because we threw it so much.”

Grant is still involved with the program and attends as many games as he can. He’s a huge fan of head coach Larry Blakeney and goes a long way back, as
the two played on the same American Legion baseball team in high school.

“I’d say the next best thing they can do is to beat a big team,” Grant said. “We beat Mississippi State a few years back. There’s certainly some tough teams
on the schedule, but they can compete with them.

“I’d also like to see them play some other bigger teams. Not so much Texas or Oklahoma, but a team like Baylor or Mississippi State again. I’d love to see
them play Southern Miss on a yearly basis. It was a great game in the (New Orleans Bowl). Even though we lost, it was a great game and a great crowd.”

Grant, who lives in Orange Beach, is the Founder and President of Daniel Communications, Inc., in Daphne, and has been in that position for the last 23 years.
Daniel Communications covers the state of Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida panhandle selling and installing audio visual and video systems. Grant said
they sell LCDs and projector systems for churches and schools.