John Grace (born October 2, 1977) is a retired

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

linebacker.

College career

Grace attended

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

, and was a two-time Team Defensive

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

, a two-time All-MAC selection, and was the 1998

Motor City Bowl The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (known as the Motor City Bowl until 2009) was a post-season college football bowl game that was played annually from 1997 to 2013. The first five games (1997–2001) were played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, ...

MVP. He finished his stellar college career with 15 sacks, and 437 tackles.

Professional career

Grace joined the CFL in 2000, playing 6 games for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

over 2 seasons. In 2002, he played for the

Ottawa Renegades The Ottawa Renegades were a Canadian Football League franchise based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, six years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded. After four seasons, the Renegades franchise was suspended indefinitely by the league ...

, and was an all star. After another season in Ottawa, he moved to the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

, where he was an all star in 2004 and 2005, and won the

CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award The Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award is annually awarded to the best defensive player in the Canadian football League. The winner of the award is selected by members of the Football Reporters of Canada along with the head coaches in the CFL. ...

in 2005. After returning to Calgary in 2006, Grace was again signed as a free agent by the

during the off-season, and retired after the 2007 season when he was released by Montreal.

References

1977 births Living people American players of Canadian football Canadian football linebackers Calgary Stampeders players Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award winners Marshall Thundering Herd football players Montreal Alouettes players Ottawa Renegades players People from Okeechobee, Florida {{Canadianfootball-linebacker-stub