Norman Lance Granger (born September 14, 1961) is a former professional American football

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. 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 ...

at the University of Iowa.

Early years

Granger was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, where he graduated from

Barringer High School Barringer Academy of the Arts & Humanities (formerly Barringer High School and Newark High School), is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Newark, in Essex County, New Jersey, United ...

as part of the class of 1980, where he was a teammate of future

NFL 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 major ...

player Andre Tippett. He was a high school All-American running back, who posted 1,900 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior. He also received the Newark Academic Scholar-Athlete Award.

College career

Granger accepted a football scholarship from the University of Iowa. He was moved to

after being recruited as a running back, even though blocking wasn't his strength, he had above average running and receiving skills for that position. In his first year, he was used returning kickoffs and led the Big Ten Conference by posting 329 yards (29.9-yard average). He became a starter as a sophomore and contributed to the team reaching the Rose Bowl, where he basically was the only offensive weapon in an 0-28 loss, tallying 80 rushing yards on 13 carries. That season, he returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against Indiana University. The next year, he registered 352 rushing yards and 260 receiving yards. He also had a 63-yard reception for a touchdown against Indiana University. As a senior, he became the first player in school history to captain the football team for two years. Although he only gained 429 rushing yards (6.9 yards per carry), he was still named team co-MVP. He finished his college career with 1,058 rushing yards on 191 attempts (5.5-yard average), 43 receptions for 389 yards and 7 total touchdowns.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Granger was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round (137th overall) of the

1984 NFL Draft The 1984 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 May 1–2, 1984, at the Omni Park Cent ...

. As a rookie, he made the team after the retirement of Robert Newhouse, as he was seen as a similar player in physical dimensions. He played in 15 games as a special teams player. In

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, he was projected as the backup to

Fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

Timmy Newsome Timothy Arthur Newsome (born May 17, 1958) is a former American football fullback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Winston-Salem State University. Early years Newsome attended Ahoskie High Sc ...

, but was released on August 27, after he was passed on the depth chart by

Todd Fowler Todd Fowler is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Houston Gamblers in the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football ...

. He was re-signed as a free agent in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, but was placed on the injured reserve list on August 19.

Atlanta Falcons

After the players went on a strike on the third week of the 1987 season, those games were canceled (reducing the 16 game season to 15) and the

decided that the games would be played with replacement players. Granger was signed to be a part of the

replacement team. He played in three games (1 start), before being released at the end of the strike.

Personal life

In 2014, he recovered the Rose Bowl ring that was stolen from him at the end of his sophomore campaign. He worked as a Black Hawk County Supervisor and as a residential officer in Waterloo, before being named the vice chairman of the Iowa Board of Parole. Granger married in 1985 to Leila VanArsdale and they have three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Granger, Norm 1961 births Living people Players of American football from Newark, New Jersey Barringer High School alumni American football fullbacks Iowa Hawkeyes football players Dallas Cowboys players Atlanta Falcons players National Football League replacement players