Charles Jacob Grove (born January 22, 1980) is a former American college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for seven seasons. 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 ...

for

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. He was drafted by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

in the second round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 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 draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

, and also played for the NFL's

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 ...

.He is now a lineman coach at Jefferson Forest High School.

Early years

Grove was born in

Johnson City, Tennessee Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth largest city in Tennessee. John ...

. He played high school football at

Jefferson Forest High School Jefferson Forest High School (JFHS) is one of the three high schools in Bedford County, Virginia. Jefferson Forest High School was first opened in 1972. The school's Principal is Brian Wilson, and the assistant principals are Jennifer Kline, Ben ...

in Forest, Virginia.

College career

While attending

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

, Grove played for coach

Frank Beamer Franklin Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is a retired American college football coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and former college football player. He is the father of current South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane ...

Virginia Tech Hokies football The Virginia Tech Hokies football team represents Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the sport of American football. The Hokies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

team from 2000 to 2003. As a senior in 2003, he was a first-team All-Big East selection, received unanimous first-team All-American honors, and won the

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College F ...

, given to the nation's best college center. In recognition of his outstanding college career as a Hokie, Virginia Tech retired his jersey number in 2006, and enshrined him in the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Grove was drafted in the second round (45th overall) of the

by the

, through a pick that was acquired from the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

in exchange for

Jon Gruden Jon David Gruden (born August 17, 1963) is a former American professional football coach who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He held his first head coaching position with the Raiders franchise during thei ...

. where he played from 2004 to 2008. After being the reserve center behind

Adam Treu Adam R. Treu (born June 24, 1974) is an American former center who played in the National Football League. He walked on to University of Nebraska-Lincoln after playing at Pius X High School in Lincoln. He won back-to-back National Championships ...

as a rookie, Grove split time with him as the starting center during the

2005 NFL season The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006. The regular season also saw the first ever regular season game played outside the United ...

, in which the Raiders had a 4-12 won-lost record, then won the job the following year, the 7th starting center in Raider history, starting all 16 games, when Treu became his replacement for a 2-14 team. But in the 2007 NFL season,

Jeremy Newberry Jeremy David Newberry (born March 23, 1976) is a former center in the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He was born in Antioch, California, and played college football a ...

became the starting center, as Grove started only two games for the 4-12 team. He got his job back in the

2008 NFL season The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now." Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 1, 2009, w ...

, starting in 12 games, though the team's fortune stayed poor with a 5-11 record. His Oakland tenure was hampered by injuries, and he only played in more than 10 games twice during his six seasons in Oakland.

Miami Dolphins

On March 2, 2009, Grove signed a five-year, $29 million ($14.5 million guaranteed) free agent contract with the

. The previous starting center for the Dolphins,

Samson Satele Samson H. Satele (born November 29, 1984) is a former American football center. He played college football at Hawaii and was drafted in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. Satele also played for the Oakland Raiders an ...

, was traded to Grove's old team, the Raiders. Grove suffered through another injury plagued year, playing in 12 games, starting 10 of them. In the 2010 preseason, he suffered from nagging knee and shoulder injuries, and was cut by the Dolphins less than a year after signing his lucrative free agent contract in favor of

Joe Berger Joseph David Berger ( ; born May 25, 1982) is a former American football guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the ...

. He reportedly worked out for the Raiders,

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, but did not sign with another team.

Notes

External links

Oakland Raiders bioMiami Dolphins bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grove, Jake 1980 births Living people All-American college football players American football centers American football offensive guards Miami Dolphins players Oakland Raiders players People from Johnson City, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee Virginia Tech Hokies football players Ed Block Courage Award recipients