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GrantMcKinniss
- position Punter
- height 6-1
- Weight 204
- class Senior
- Hometown Findlay, Ohio
- High school Findlay
2019 – Junior
- Handled kickoffs again for the Cats, kicking 67 times for 4,134 yards and 48 touchbacks (61.7 average)
- Also the Cats’ holder on field goals
- Had one tackle
- Kicked seven times for a 64.4 average and five touchbacks in the season opener vs. Toledo
- Had a 65.0 average on four kicks vs. Florida and at Mississippi State
- Named to SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll
- Dean’s List (Fall 2019)
2018 – r-Sophomore
- Handled all kickoffs for the Wildcats
- Charted 66 kickoffs for 4,069 yards and 36 touchbacks (61.7)
- Named to SEC Academic Honor Roll
2017 – Sophomore
- Redshirt season
- Named to SEC Academic Honor Roll
2016 – Freshman
- Was a nominee for the Ray Guy Award given to the nation’s top punter
- Ranked third among SEC freshman punters, averaging 39.2 yards per punt on the season
- Had 10 punts inside the 20-yard line
- Boomed a career-long 61-yard punt in the second quarter at Alabama
- For the game at Alabama, averaged 44.7 yards on six punts, besting his previous high average of 43.4 versus Florida on Sept. 8
- SEC First-year Academic Honor Roll (2016-17)
High School
- A four-star recruit who is rated the nation’s No. 4 punter according to Scout
- Earned Three Rivers Athletic Conference first-team honors as a placekicker four straight seasons and was a first-team selection as a punter three seasons in a row
- Two-time first-team All-Northwest Ohio honoree
- Converted 38 of 40 PAT kicks and 10 of 11 field goals, including a season-long 52-yarder as a senior
- Averaged 39.4 yards on punts and put 11 of 32 kicks inside the 20-yard line
- As a junior, averaged 40.8 yards on 41 punts, dropping 12 punts inside the 20-yard line
- Converted 40 of 42 PAT attempts and was 5-for-8 in FG attempts, including a school-record 53-yarder
- While kicking off in 2014, had 44 of his 60 kickoffs downed for touchbacks
- Earned second-team All-State honors as a junior, marking his second consecutive year honored
- Named MaxPreps 2012 Freshman All-American First Team
- Also earned third team All-Ohio Division I as a freshman
- For his career, connected on 148 of 159 PAT attempts and 29 field goals
- His 235 points ties him for the sixth-highest total for points by a kicker in the Ohio prep football record books
- One of the Elite 88 high school seniors selected to compete in the 10th annual Offense-Defense All-American Bowl and the 2016 Ohio High Football Coaches Association North-South All-Star Classic
- Also letter three seasons as a guard on the basketball team
- Chose Kentucky over Toledo, Clemson, Penn State, Purdue and Michigan State
Community Cats
- Volunteer for God’s Pantry (2019)
Personal
- Born in Findlay, Ohio
- Son of Angie and Patrick McKinniss
- Has one sister, Lauren
- Graduated in May of 2020 with a degree in psychology … Currently working on a master’s degree in sport and exercise psychology
Grant Says
- One word to describe him on the field is “emotionless”
- His sport hero is Kobe Bryant because he’s a legend
- When he’s not playing football he enjoys spending time with family and friends
- After his football career, he would like to be a health and wellness consultant
- He chose Kentucky because he liked the family feel