Interesting news story from Monday: former LSU sprinter Cyril Grayson, who participated in LSU’s pro day last week signed an NFL free agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks.
Grayson, a four-time NCAA sprinting champion at LSU, was timed at 4.33 in the forty-yard dash at LSU’s pre-draft event, and joins New Orleans Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux as the second former Tiger to wind up on an NFL roster despite never joining the LSU football roster. Grayson will try his hand at wide receiver.
From The Advocate’s feature:
“I was like, ‘This is unreal,’” Grayson said Monday after the team announced its signing of the former LSU track star and Rummel standout. “I don’t want to get too excited. I know there’s still a lot of work to do. I’m super pumped, but I’m just not outwardly with it. I’ve been keeping it on the DL.”
There’s also this very interesting timeline:
Tuesday night
Grayson met with Seattle senior personnel executive Ed Dodds the night before pro day. A phone call from Dodds earlier in the day led to the dinner date at Baton Rouge’s Roux 61 restaurant. Grayson and several former LSU football players, including tight end DeSean Smith and defensive back Dwayne Thomas, were present at the dinner. “I called my brother and I was like, ‘I have a dinner date with Seattle,’” Grayson said. “I need a ride over there. He had a project to do. So I called an Uber.”
Wednesday afternoon
Grayson performs so well at pro day that Dodds immediately approaches after he completes his individual drills. "He said, ‘Don’t make any plans for tomorrow. We’re going to fly you out.’"
Wednesday evening
Grayson arrives to his apartment after pro day, showers and then attends Wednesday night mass. “My dad is a pastor. I got to go to church,” he said. Well before he entered the church, Seattle officials had booked his Thursday night flight.
Thursday night
He arrived in Seattle at 8 p.m. Thursday. Before leaving Baton Rouge, he turned to a friend, “This is unreal. I didn’t think it would happen that fast. I knew I would open some eyes at pro day, but this?”
Friday morning
Grayson undergoes a physical at the Seattle facility. He also gets X-rays on both knees, an elbow and a wrist. He then met several Seattle officials and team members. They knew everything about it. “They had done their homework,” Grayson said.
Friday evening
Grayson passed his physical and the X-rays returned negative for any damage. He knew then that the Seahawks would likely make an offer that night. There was only one problem: He did not have an agent. “Called my dad. Made a decision. ‘We’re going to go with this guy,’” Grayson said. “I didn’t want to negotiate anything myself. I went to a guy I trust.” He hired Donald Jelani Roy, a New York-based agent.
Friday night
Seattle offered him a standard three-year rookie deal, Grayson said, with no guaranteed money. Standard rookie deals start in the $500,000 range. His newly hired agent called around to a few other teams. “They said they were going to offer the same thing,” Grayson said. “The Seahawks had the best opportunity for me to compete for a job. They showed a lot of love and it felt like home.” At 7:06 p.m. Friday, Grayson signed the deal, announcing it in a teleconference with his sister and parents.
Grayson played football for Archbishop Rummel High School, but was only lightly recruited. He ran the 200-, 400- and 800-meter dashes for the LSU track team.
Very cool story for Grayson, and we wish him luck with the Seahawks.