Very good article on the now Louisville Safety...part of the article:
Grantham had offered his grandson a lifeline after Georgia. He had recruited Harvey-Clemons out of Lowndes High, spent months selling the kid's grandfather on the merits of UGA, understood the values the Clemons clan held dear. As he tried to install his defense at Louisville in the spring of 2014, he saw Harvey-Clemons as an investment worth the obvious baggage that came with him.
"I understood the kind of kid he was," Grantham said. "I believe Josh is a good young man that has to work and mature to make the right decisions. The foundation was there, and he just needed to mature."
The first year at Louisville was brutal. He was away from home, away from friends and family, but also the influences that had helped undermine his life. He was back on a football field, but he was relegated to scout team work during practice, and he watched games from the sideline or his couch. Harvey-Clemons had always been a star, and now he was sideshow.
He watched last season as Gerod Holliman, the man playing his position, set an NCAA record for interceptions. He cringed when Louisville landed a bowl berth against his old team. Harvey-Clemons was at home when Georgia crushed the Cardinals 37-14. His grandfather said that probably hurt Harvey-Clemons the most.
But through last season, Grantham kept a close watch on Harvey-Clemons. Louisville has a practice session on Sundays for redshirts, and Harvey-Clemons excelled. He wasn't playing in games, but those little things -- the school work, the film study -- he was thrilled to have those again. On the scout team, Harvey-Clemons became something of an assistant coach. He was one of the few players familiar with Grantham's scheme, and if he couldn't play, he wanted to teach.
"In that situation you just have to stay the course and keep your head down and do the work," Grantham said. "I think he sees the importance of how everything connects. That's the biggest thing with Josh. He's a humbled young man."
All of this was running through Clemons' mind as he considered Grantham's call this spring. How could his grandson have faltered after coming so far?
"Woodrow," Grantham said when Clemons answered the phone. "I wanted to call you about some good news."
Harvey-Clemons had made the dean's list in the spring semester. Grantham doesn't call family to report on good grades often, but this was a special case. Clemons was ecstatic.
"He's willing to do whatever it takes to get back out there on that field to prove that he's a better person than those things that happened to him," Clemons said.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/13575959
Grantham had offered his grandson a lifeline after Georgia. He had recruited Harvey-Clemons out of Lowndes High, spent months selling the kid's grandfather on the merits of UGA, understood the values the Clemons clan held dear. As he tried to install his defense at Louisville in the spring of 2014, he saw Harvey-Clemons as an investment worth the obvious baggage that came with him.
"I understood the kind of kid he was," Grantham said. "I believe Josh is a good young man that has to work and mature to make the right decisions. The foundation was there, and he just needed to mature."
The first year at Louisville was brutal. He was away from home, away from friends and family, but also the influences that had helped undermine his life. He was back on a football field, but he was relegated to scout team work during practice, and he watched games from the sideline or his couch. Harvey-Clemons had always been a star, and now he was sideshow.
He watched last season as Gerod Holliman, the man playing his position, set an NCAA record for interceptions. He cringed when Louisville landed a bowl berth against his old team. Harvey-Clemons was at home when Georgia crushed the Cardinals 37-14. His grandfather said that probably hurt Harvey-Clemons the most.
But through last season, Grantham kept a close watch on Harvey-Clemons. Louisville has a practice session on Sundays for redshirts, and Harvey-Clemons excelled. He wasn't playing in games, but those little things -- the school work, the film study -- he was thrilled to have those again. On the scout team, Harvey-Clemons became something of an assistant coach. He was one of the few players familiar with Grantham's scheme, and if he couldn't play, he wanted to teach.
"In that situation you just have to stay the course and keep your head down and do the work," Grantham said. "I think he sees the importance of how everything connects. That's the biggest thing with Josh. He's a humbled young man."
All of this was running through Clemons' mind as he considered Grantham's call this spring. How could his grandson have faltered after coming so far?
"Woodrow," Grantham said when Clemons answered the phone. "I wanted to call you about some good news."
Harvey-Clemons had made the dean's list in the spring semester. Grantham doesn't call family to report on good grades often, but this was a special case. Clemons was ecstatic.
"He's willing to do whatever it takes to get back out there on that field to prove that he's a better person than those things that happened to him," Clemons said.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/13575959
