Deciphering the Distinctive Quarterback Style of Will Grier
Los Angeles Chargers backup quarterback Will Grier hasn’t taken a typical path to NFL success, but the fifth-year signal caller has enjoyed a solid career as a journeyman, making a little over $4 million dollars since entering the NFL despite playing in just two games.
He was one of the highest ranked recruits in the nation out of high school, and still managed to be selected in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft despite going through a tumultuous collegiate career. Grier’s dual threat ability and aggressive personality when throwing the football makes him a highlight reel waiting to happen, even if his gunslinging style bears both risks and rewards. Here’s a look at what makes the North Carolina native stand out, and what he’s up to as he prepares for his sixth NFL season.
Dice Rolling Gunslinger
From his earliest days in the national spotlight, it became clear that Will Grier liked to sling it deep early and often. He didn’t have a cannon of an arm in the same vein as other future pros like Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, but it didn’t seem to matter against high school and college defenses.
Grier set a national single game record during his junior year of high school with 837 passing yards, shattering the previous best mark by more than 70 yards, a record that stands to this day.
Better yet was Grier’s ability as a runner, giving him the opportunity to break outside the pocket and buy himself time to take a deep shot, or pick up chunk yardage with his legs. It’s one thing to
It’s no surprise that collegiate coaches salivated over the possibility of adding Grier to their team, and after receiving honors as Parade All-American Player of the Year and Mr. Football USA during his senior season, North Carolina Betting Apps had the young quarterback as an excellent pick to become an NFL star someday.
He ended up committing to the Florida Gators, where he took a redshirt in his first year on campus before winning the starting job early in his second season.
Up and Down Collegiate Career
Unfortunately for Grier, the hot start to his collegiate career didn’t last. He received a year long suspension from the NCAA after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, having accidentally used a workout supplement that he didn’t realize violated league rules. The mistake effectively ended his tenure at Florida, as he transferred to West Virginia University following the season.
This was when the NCAA still had strict rules regarding transfers, so Grier had to sit out the entirety of the next season while ineligible. Although he spent nearly two years sidelined, unable to take a snap, Grier picked up right where he left off during the 2017 season, throwing for 3,490 yards and 34 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions and helping the Mountaineers to a 7-3 record in games he started and finished. Unfortunately, he broke a finger on his throwing hand in the second to last game of the regular season, and the Mountaineers lost each of the three games in which he was limited or unavailable.
Even so, with a high level of play already established, he headed into his final season with quite a bit of hype around him.
Grier led the Mountaineers to an 8-3 record in his final year in college, although he skipped their bowl game in order to prepare for the NFL Draft. With 37 touchdowns to just eight interceptions and Second Team All Big 12 honors—behind just quarterback Kyler Murray, who won the Heisman Trophy and was the first overall pick in the draft—Grier gave the Mountaineers national championship hopes. They began the season with a perfect 5-0 record: after climbing all the way to No. 6, a loss to Iowa State dashed those hopes a bit, but Grier keyed another three game winning streak, including an all-time great game against No. 13 Texas, where Grier led the Mountaineers to a thrilling 42-41 victory on the road.
Unfortunately, the Mountaineers lost their last two games, putting their title hopes to bed… but Grier still parlayed his performance into becoming a third round draft pick by the Carolina Panthers, his home state’s team.
Will Grier Today
From his time in high school and college, Grier has been known as an exceptional leader and locker room guy, the type of person who motivates his teammates to succeed and helps to get everybody fired up. Intangible qualities get talked about a lot when it comes to sports and these days, Grier’s intangibles likely play a big role in why he continues to get NFL jobs despite not having taken a regular season snap in more than four years.
Unlike other positions like defensive end or wide receiver, where backups might get rotated in on a semi-frequent basis in order to give the starters a breather or exploit a certain matchup, backup quarterbacks almost never see the field unless disaster has struck for the team they play on. Because of that, many teams look for a backup quarterback who will be a positive locker room presence, helping to keep everyone else happy and motivated through their ‘glue guy’ personality.
Grier’s propensity for slinging the ball deep simply doesn’t mesh well with his average arm strength at the professional level, making it easy for defenses to exploit his aggressive mindset. That’s part of why he’s struggled to get playing time.
Rather than burning out of the league in a year or two, though, Grier has done an excellent job of finding his niche, sticking around as a second or third string quarterback and glue guy. You have to respect his ability to find a role that works for him and stick to it, and it’s a lesson in perseverance and determination that we all could learn a thing or two from.
