Grant Hermanns

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Grant Hermanns
No. 78 – Miami Dolphins
Position:Offensive lineman
Personal information
Born: (1998-03-05) March 5, 1998 (age 25)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, US
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:305 lb (138 kg)
Career information
High school:Rio Rancho (NM)
College:Purdue
Undrafted:2021
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Practice squad
Career NFL statistics as of Week 4, 2022
Games played:2
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Grant Monroe Hermanns (born March 5, 1998) is an American football offensive lineman who is a free agent. He played college football at Purdue and was signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2021.

Early life and high school

Hermanns was born on March 5, 1998, and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He attended Rio Rancho High School, and was a four-year letter winner. In 2013, he won first place at the high school research expo in chemistry/biochemistry. As a junior, in football, he earned all-metro honors by the Albuquerque Football Coaches Association and all-state by the New Mexico Coaches Association. His team won the 2014 New Mexico 6A state championship after compiling an undefeated 13–0 record.[1]

Staph infection

Entering his senior year, Hermanns attended multiple combines to improve his chances of being recruited by Division I schools. While running the 40-yard dash, he suffered a hip avulsion fracture, although he continued and finished the combine. His injury required several weeks of healing, causing him to miss several games of the football season. Hermanns ended up appearing six matches and earned all-state and all-metro honors.[1][2]

"But then I started getting these weird fevers," he later said.[2] "I would be at 104 degrees just randomly or I'd go all the way down to 94, a sub-fever. And it would happen all the time, like every other day. I'd be falling asleep in class, just covered in sweat. My parents didn't know what was going on and they took me to the doctor multiple times. The doctor said, 'You're fine, nothing's wrong.' They tested my white cell count and they couldn't find anything."[2]

However, Hermanns started to lose weight at a rapid pace, going from 265 pounds down to 190 in only a couple months. He was taken to a physical therapist by his mother, and was asked to lie down onto the table. His left hip was elevated much higher than his right, his therapist found, and Hermanns was then asked to walk. "They were like, 'Oh, that's not right,'" he recalled.[2]

The following day, he attended football practice and believed he was urinating blood in the bathroom. It was later figured out to be his liver enzymes exiting his body, meaning that his liver, as well as several other organs, was breaking down because of a sickness. Hermanns was rushed to the emergency room and was given an MRI, which discovered a pomegranate-sized cyst in his hip. He underwent surgery the following day and had it removed.[2]

Hermann and his family were told by doctors that the staph infection had possibly come from a cut received while playing football. They said it entered in the hip area and started to attack his body in the following months. He was told that the infection may have been fatal if he had been several years older, as that type of infection is better handled by younger patients.[2]

After the surgery, Hermanns for a time lost feeling in a section of his left leg and in his left foot; he still is numb in a spot on his leg due to nerve damage resulting from the infection. He needed to re-learn how to walk, but progressively got closer to normal. The football season had ended by this time, and so he focused his efforts on the wrestling season. Just a couple months after the near-fatal staph infection, Hermanns was entered into the Class 6A state wrestling championship and won it.[2]

College career

After graduating from Rio Rancho, Hermanns committed to Purdue University over offers from at least eleven other schools, including New Mexico.[3] He redshirted his first year, 2016. He added 40 pounds in 2017, and, despite being a redshirt-freshman, made the Boilermakers' starting lineup.[4] That year, he started the first six matches before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He helped block for a total of 403.1 yards offense a game and was named a 2017 Academic All-Big Ten Conference selection.[1]

As a sophomore in 2018, Hermanns appeared in nine games, all as a starter, and was named an Academic All-Big Ten selection. He helped block for the Purdue offense which averaged over 440 yards of offense each game. He was named team captain for his junior year, 2019, and started all 12 games, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors while helping the team compile an average of 393.2 yards of offense per game.[1] As a senior, Hermanns was named an honorable mention all-conference player.[5]

Although Hermanns was given an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he decided to declare for the NFL Draft.[6] He finished his four-year career at Purdue with a total of 33 games played, all at the left tackle position.[5]

Professional career

New York Jets

After going unselected in the 2021 NFL Draft, Hermanns was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent.[7] He was waived at the final roster cuts, on August 31, but re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[8] He was signed to a future contract on January 10, 2022, after spending the whole 2021 season on the practice squad.[9]

In the 2022 preseason, Hermanns played in all three games and appeared on 78 offense snaps, as well as ten special teams snaps.[10] He was waived on August 30, at the final roster cuts, but was subsequently re-signed to the practice squad.[10] He was activated from the practice squad on September 10, for their game against the Baltimore Ravens, and reverted back afterwards.[11] He was again activated on September 17, for New York's game against the Cleveland Browns.[12] He made his NFL debut in the match, a 31–30 win, appearing on five special teams snaps.[13] He was released on October 11.[14]

Miami Dolphins

On October 26, 2022, Hermanns was signed to the Miami Dolphins practice squad.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Grant Hermanns". purduesports.com. Purdue Boilermakers. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Waszak, Dennis, Jr. (August 12, 2021). "Jets' Hermanns living NFL dream after near-death staph scare". apnews.com. Associated Press.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Wright, Rick (January 24, 2016). "Rio Rancho's Hermanns commits to Purdue". Albuquerque Journal.
  4. ^ Carmin, Mike (August 24, 2017). "Hard work pays off for Hermanns". The Courier-Journal. p. C4 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. ^ a b Aber, Spencer (May 14, 2021). "4 things to know about Jets' UDFA OL Grant Hermanns". USA Today.
  6. ^ Lassan, Steven (December 28, 2020). "2021 NFL Draft: College Football Players Leaving Early for NFL". athlonsports.com. Athlon Sports.
  7. ^ Ortega, Brandon (May 3, 2021). "Rio Rancho grad Grant Hermanns signs with NY Jets". kob.com. KOB.
  8. ^ Allen, Eric (September 1, 2021). "Jets Sign 13 to the Practice Squad". newyorkjets.com. New York Jets.
  9. ^ "Grant Hermanns Transactions & Injuries". sportsforecaster.com.
  10. ^ a b Lange, Randy (August 31, 2022). "Jets Sign 13 Players to Practice Squad". newyorkjets.com. New York Jets.
  11. ^ "September 2022 NFL Transactions". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  12. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (September 17, 2022). "Jets Elevate Grant Hermanns, Kenny Yeboah from Practice Squad". newyorkjets.com. New York Jets.
  13. ^ "Grant Hermanns". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  14. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (October 11, 2022). "Jets Sign WR-KR Diontae Spencer to Practice Squad". NewYorkJets.com.
  15. ^ "Miami Dolphins make practice squad move". MiamiDolphins.com. October 26, 2022.
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