Redshirt junior linebacker Grandville Taylor (56) rushes after redshirt sophomore quarterback Taylor Kelly during ASU’s Spring Game last April. Taylor and fellow redshirt junior linebacker Brandon Johnson both received athletic scholarships, coach Todd Graham announced Tuesday. (Photo by Sam Rosenbaum)As the ASU football team huddled to conclude their final practice before Thursday’s bout with NAU, a few rowdy cheers and a round of applause were held.
“(Redshirt junior linebackers) Grandville Taylor and Brandon Johnson, we awarded scholarships to today,” coach Todd Graham said. “Our message is here in this Valley, if you want to walk-on and earn a scholarship, Arizona State is the place to be.”
Although Graham had previously told Taylor of his decision, the linebacker was still overwhelmed with emotion when Graham made the formal announcement to the team.
“It’s a huge burden off my shoulders,” Taylor said. “I can’t tell you how strong I feel … I had a chance to tell my mom, she was very ecstatic. I had a chance to tell my dad and he said he’d told me, ‘Hard work would pay off.’”
While Taylor was expecting the announcement, Johnson did not know if he would receive a scholarship this year.
“It really hasn’t hit me yet, but my emotions are just that I’m relieved,” Johnson said. “It really shows how the coaches feel about my work ethic. I’m glad they noticed because they didn’t have to (give me a scholarship), but the fact they did really makes me grateful.”
Although he does not like quitting and would not have left the football team, Johnson admitted competing as a walk-on is emotionally straining.
Todd Graham awards walkons with scholarships from The State Press on Vimeo.
“My father paid for my school, but he passed away last year,” Johnson said. “This makes it a lot easier to focus on football.”
Johnson and Taylor said they both appreciate the scholarship to allow them to commit time to their love of the gridiron rather than taking on part-time jobs to pay for school.
However, Taylor appreciates this opportunity for another reason.
Taylor has three younger brothers — one 12-year-old and two 9-year-old twins. The linebacker says his brothers look up to him and he is constantly telling them to work hard.
He said the scholarship is a tangible example he can use to prove to them that their efforts will be rewarded via his own work ethic.
The moment may have been a bit surreal for both Taylor and Johnson, but redshirt senior linebacker Brandon Magee felt they both more than deserved the scholarship.
“I’m not surprised they got scholarships, but that’s exciting,” Magee said. “(They are) two of the hardest working guys we have on the team. Come to summer training and they are the first guys there, last guys to leave. (They are) always working out, always in the film room.”
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
