James Harvey "Boomer" Grigsby (born November 15, 1981) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

fullback. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...

, and was drafted by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

in the fifth round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

. Grigsby was also a member of the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Early years

Grigsby attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Canton High School where he was an all-area

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

during his senior season. He was not recruited to play

until a

coach saw him lifting weights in his high school's weight room.

College career

Grigsby was a four-year letterman at

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

. As a sophomore, he set a school record with 179 tackles and also recorded what would remain a career-high four sacks. The following season, Grigsby tied his own school record with 179 tackles. He came in second behind only future

teammate

Jared Allen Jared Scot Allen (born April 3, 1982) is a former American football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football at Idaho State and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth ...

in the voting for the

Buck Buchanan Award The Buck Buchanan Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding defensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football, and was first given in 1995 after the Walter Payton Award was d ...

, given annually to the top defensive player in

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

. In 44 games (40 starts), at Illinois State, Grigsby recorded a school record 580 tackles to go along with 41.5 tackles for a loss, 13 sacks, six fumble recoveries, five forced fumbles and seven passes defended. He was

Gateway Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivis ...

Player of the Year, a Division I-AA

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n and Buchanan award finalist each of his final three seasons.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Grigsby was drafted by the

in the fifth round (138th overall) of the

. On July 15, he signed a three-year, $1.067 million contract with the team. It included a signing bonus of $142,000 and base salaries of $230,000 (2005), $310,000 (2006) and $385,000 (2007). Grigsby played in all 16 regular season games that year in a reserve role and finished third on the team with 19 special teams tackles. Appearing in 15 games in 2006, Grigsby again ranked third on the Chiefs in special teams tackles with 18. He missed one game that season with foot injury. Prior to the 2007 regular season, Grigsby was converted from

to fullback. The transition was chronicled on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

reality series '' Hard Knocks:Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs''. Despite the position change and an injury to his ribs during the preseason, Grigsby made the team. He went on to appear in 13 games for the Chiefs that season including one start. His first NFL reception came on a nine-yard pass from

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Brodie Croyle John Brodie Croyle (; born February 6, 1983) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL) in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Un ...

against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

on December 9, and he finished the season with two receptions for 14 yards. He finished third on the team in special teams tackles (12) for the third straight season. A

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

in the 2008 offseason, Grigsby was not tendered a contract by the Chiefs and became an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Miami Dolphins

On March 4, 2008, Grigsby agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the

. The signing reunited him with current Dolphins

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

s coach James Saxon, who was Grigsby's position coach with the Chiefs in 2007. Grigsby won the team's starting fullback job in 2008 after incumbent

Reagan Mauia Tuioti Reagan Maui'a (born July 6, 1984) is a former American football fullback. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Hawaii. Maui'a has also played for the Cincinnati B ...

was released during final cuts. However, after starting the Dolphins' season opener against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

on September 7, Grigsby was released by the team two days later in favor of free agent Casey Cramer. He spent the rest of the season out of football.

Houston Texans

Grigsby was signed by the

on May 12, 2009. He was waived with an injury designation on August 18. After going unclaimed on waivers, he reverted to Texans'

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. He was released with an injury settlement on August 25.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grigsby, Boomer 1981 births Living people American football fullbacks American football linebackers Houston Texans players Illinois State Redbirds football players Kansas City Chiefs players Miami Dolphins players College Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Canton, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois