Top Stories of the Year, No. 6: Grizzle makes most of college change

Marquise Grizzle

SALISBURY, North Carolina  --  While destroying defenses as the Daily Advance Football Player of the Year in 2011, Currituck running back Marquise Grizzle was known for his ability to change directions quickly.

That proved useful after Grizzle’s plans to attend Murray State on a football scholarship fell through in the middle of the summer when was unable to meet the school’s academic requirements.

Grizzle, who rushed for a mind-boggling 3,085 yards and 50 touchdowns as a senior, didn’t let the Murray State setback trap him, however.

Within weeks he signed with Division II Shaw, where he was eligible to play immediately.

Currituck coach John Wheeler said he was “devastated” when he found out Grizzle, the first Knight football player to sign with a Division I program since 1981, would not be able to play at Murray State, a Kentucky school which competes in the Football Championship Subdivision.

“We looked at our options after we were notified and we were lucky we could get him a scholarship to Shaw,” Wheeler said. “They did a great job of recruiting him and staying in touch.”

 

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