Sept. 23, 2002
by Marianne Stoess * Host Communications
Things are a lot different this time around.
The difference between Kentucky football last year and this year isn’t onlyin the wins and losses, it is all in the attitude. And nowhere is that newattitude and confidence more prevalent than with senior defensive end OtisGrigsby.
“I have never seen so many guys so enthusiastic in all the time I have beenhere,” said Grigsby. “I have seen excitement before, but this year’sexcitement also has the confidence of knowing that we can win. We know wehave the right things in place to be successful this season.”
Grigsby and the Wildcats have plenty to be excited about. With the 2002season off to a 3-0 start including wins over then-No. 17 Louisville, a77-17 win over UTEP and a 27-17 victory over Indiana, the Wildcats haveclearly turned things around. The San Antonio, Texas, native gives somecredit to the Wildcats’ win over Louisville for the new-found confidence andfeels it has prepared the team for the rest of the season.
“It was very important for us to start the season with a win overLouisville,” said Grigsby. “It is important for our confidence. Most of usknow what it is like to lose several games at the beginning of the seasonand thinking about that kind of makes you mad. The Louisville game in pastyears has been overlooked, I think, being that they are not a part of theSEC. But the coaches told us and the players all knew that game wasimportant. We want to win every game we play whether it is a conference ornon-conference opponent. Every game is an important one and no opponentshould be overlooked.”
The UK defense put on an outstanding display against the Cardinals, allowingthe in-state rival only 17 points. The Wildcats created three Louisvilleturnovers, including two fumbles and an interception. As a team, Kentuckytotaled six tackles for a loss, 19 quarterback knockdowns, three sacks and14 quarterback hurries.
Proving the Louisville performance was no fluke, the defense again stepped upin games against UTEP and Indiana. The Wildcats recovered two fumbles andlimited the Miners to 17 points, and in the game versus Indiana, it was thedefense that saved the game, as Quentus Cumby returned an interception 82yards for a touchdown.
As one of the most experienced players on the team – Grigsby ranks No. 1 onthe team in games played along with Ronnie Riley, John Robinson and DerrickTatum who have also played in 36 games – the coaching staff is counting onGrigsby to be a leader on the Wildcat defensive unit. That responsibility isone that Grigsby doesn’t take lightly and one that he looks forward to.
“I have been here before so I feel a responsibility to be a leader and tostep in and encourage the younger guys,” said Grigsby. “I like to pat themon the back and let them know they are doing a good job. And when thingsaren’t going so well I tell them to hang in there and to go out and workhard every play.”
In addition to learning how to lead the defensive unit on the field, Grigsbyis learning how to deal with the emotions that come knowing that this is hisfinal season in a Wildcat uniform.
“This is my last year and I want to win as many games as possible,” saidGrigsby. “I try to savor every moment. Every time I do something I stop andthink, ‘This is the last time I will go through summer camp. This is thelast road game. This is the last home game.’ Everything just means so muchmore this year.”
That is not to say that Grigsby is so caught up in sentiment that he has losthis focus. In fact, it is almost as if he has tunnel vision, with hisattention zeroed in on success for his team and himself this year.
“Expectations are high,” said Grigsby. “I want to do everything I can to helpthis team win. But at the same time I want to do all of that and more. Iwant to get as many sacks as I can. I want to get as many tackles in thebackfield as I can. I want to recover as many fumbles as I can. This is mylast year and I want to have the best season that I possibly can.”
And should his attention waiver, Grigsby is confident that his teammates andthe coaching staff can get him back on track by their example.
“The mentality around here is so much better,” said Grigsby. “We have so muchconfidence in ourselves. We all know what we can do as a team. We don’t wantto hover in the middle of the pack, we want to be the best. The attitude ofthe team is probably the biggest change around here. The coaching staff doesa great job of keeping us focused and keeping us confident in what we aredoing on the field.
“Coach Morriss is making us do all of the little things,” said Grigsby. “Heis making us work harder, and is teaching us that anything worth having isworth working for.”
And for Grigsby and the Wildcats, winning is definitely worth all of the hardwork. After leading or tying LSU, Georgia, Mississippi State and Tennesseein the fourth quarter only to lose the games last season, Grigsby has faiththat the Wildcats will be prepared to see things all the way through thisyear.
“I think we will surprise a lot of people who don’t play football,” saidGrigsby. “There are a lot of football teams who know what we can do. Lastyear we were close in a lot of games that we lost. That means that wecouldn’t finish games which is unfortunate. I feel that this year we will beable to finish those games and come away with some wins. I think that isprobably what will surprise people the most.
“At the end of this season I hope that people can say ‘Kentucky dideverything it took to win. Whether they had to come from behind or defendtheir lead throughout the game, they finished the game and did whatever ittook to get the job done.’ “
In addition to his success on the field, Grigsby has flourished off thefield. In fact, his academic career has been somewhat like his footballcareer, one of many changes and opportunities.
“I started off in electrical engineering,” said Grigsby. “That conflictedwith football too much so I went undecided for a while because I wasn’treally sure what I wanted to do at that point.”
Unsure of his future, he turned to the experts, the staff at C-A-T-S (OhioCasualty Center for Academics and Tutorial Services). After discussing hisinterests and options, Grigsby decided to pursue a field that surprised evenhimself – interior design.
“I talked to the people at C-A-T-S, I talked to Barb (Deniston, Director ofAcademic Services), and I told her that I might be interested inarchitecture, which also turned out to be a conflict with football. So shesuggested interior design. I wasn’t too sure about that at first. But afterhaving someone explain it all to me – what it is about and how it isn’t justabout decorating and isn’t just picking out curtains and pillows. Once I sawthere was more to it I really got into it and once I got started I reallyliked it.”
He enjoys it so much that he is thinking about altering his plans aftergraduation.
“I came into it thinking that I would do interior design undergrad and thengo into graduate school for architecture, but now I am thinking that I likeit enough to get my master’s degree in interior design.
“I am an artist,” said Grigsby. “I sculpt, paint and draw, but didn’t want tobe an art major because I wasn’t really sure what I could do with that. Ilike to keep things broad and not limit myself, so I try to keep my optionsopen.”
But for now, Grigsby is leaving his plans for the future open to allpossibilities. He sees a bright future before him and knows much of that isdue to the lessons he has learned throughout his tenure at UK. Mostimportantly he has learned to follow through on his plans and to stick withthings even through the hard times.
“I came up here to play football,” said Grigsby. “I could have run back hometo Texas when things got tough and listened to everyone say ‘I told you so,’or I could stick it out here and make the most of it. And that is what Idid, I stuck it out through the tough times and things have definitelygotten better. There are a lot of positive things going on in this program.”
