Grisham Excited about Last Game as a Tiger

Tyler Grisham has 1,384 career receiving yards and 8 TDs on 131 receptions. (Photo: Mike Ingalls, TheSabre.com)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Dec 16 10:27:55 GMT-04:00 2008

CLEMSON -- Tyler Grisham is a football player, pure and simple.

At times, it might be easy for fans or opposing coaches and players to overlook the 5-foot-11 senior from Birmingham, but for those who pay close attention, they see No. 13 making huge blocks on bigger linebackers on running plays, making a devastating hit and tackle on special teams, or making a crucial third down catch in the middle of the field.

That is why the Gator Bowl will be another opportunity for Clemson fans to show their appreciation for the blue-collar Grisham, who is also excited about taking the field one last time in a Clemson uniform.

Grisham came off the practice field on Saturday and talked about the physical first few practices and playing against the Cornhuskers on New Years Day.

"I am excited to play in the bowl game," Grisham said. "We didn't think it would happen, and now we are playing in an amazing bowl. So we are real excited. We had about 10 days off, and even though you don't think it could happen, you get out of condition, and it takes a little time to get the rust off. You think you can come back out and be fine, but it takes a little bit of adjusting."

Even though Grisham said he is not all that familiar with the Cornhuskers, he is very familiar with at least one face that he might see out on the field, which gives the game a little bit more of a personal flavor.

"I have a friend that plays for them, a true freshman who plays on special teams," Grisham said. "Hopefully, I can get matched up with him out on the field. I am actually better friends with his older brother, so that makes it even more exciting to see him and see how that plays out."

The friend in question is Mason Wald, a freshman out of Vestavia Hills High School in Birmingham, Grisham's hometown. Wald was the last signee of Nebraska's 2008 recruiting class, picking the Huskers over Memphis.

Grisham said that while he hasn't studied the Huskers in-depth, he is still excited about taking the field against Bo Pelini's defense and seeing how his Tigers match up.

"They are pretty good, but I think we can match up pretty well against them," Grisham said. "They have some pretty good players, and it should be fun to see how we match up in the 1-on-1's, because they play a lot of press coverage. Hopefully, they will do that against us. I know we are going to work on that every day."

As his career as a Tiger comes to a close, Grisham said it is worth noting to see how far this team has come over recently, giving his career a fitting end, even though his numbers slipped a little this season - 36 catches for 366 yards and one touchdown.

"We have evolved over the past several weeks," he said. "We feel like we are a great team, and we have felt like that all along. We just feel like things didn't work out for us. Now, we feel like we are going into every game and we're going to win. You have to have that mindset, or something is wrong with you."