{"id":43734,"date":"2025-04-25T02:35:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T02:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=43734"},"modified":"2025-04-25T02:35:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T02:35:13","slug":"breaking-miami-dolphins-pick-defensive-tackle-kenneth-grant-in-the-first-round-of-2025-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=43734","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING : Miami Dolphins pick defensive tackle Kenneth Grant in the first round of 2025 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bitter late-season defeats at Merrillville High School in Indiana will seem distant memory once the massive defensive lineman gets name announced by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Oct<\/picture><\/figure>\n
Oct 5, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive lineman Kenneth Grant (78) celebrates a missed field goal by the Washington Huskies, topic during the first quarter at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images \/ Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images<\/div>\n
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What Kenneth Grant didn\u2019t quite prove at\u00a0Merrillville\u00a0High School near Gary, Indiana, will surely seemed like an afterthought Thursday night in Green Bay, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

The hulking 6-foot-3, 339-pound defensive lineman was selected at No. 13 overall in the fist round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins.<\/p>\n

Seven out of seven CBSSports<\/u>\u00a0recruiting experts project Grant to go in the middle to late first round, with the highest going at No. 20 to the Denver Broncos.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrant is a massive defensive tackle with intriguing quickness and power,\u201d wrote NFL.com\u2019s\u00a0Daniel Jeremiah<\/u>. \u201cHe’s a very dominant run defender. He easily holds the point of attack, despite playing with a high pad level. I love his effort and awareness to chase down screens.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Feb 26, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan defensive lineman Kenneth Grant (DL12) during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images \/ Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

At Merrillville, his efforts led the Pirates to records of 7-4, 11-2, 10-2 and 12-1 in his four varsity seasons, including three straight regional titles, leading to three state IHSAA semifinal appearances.<\/p>\n

After going 12-0 in his senior season, he told\u00a0i<\/u><\/a>npreps.com<\/u>, \u201cYes, I definitely have something to prove and my team as a whole has something to prove. We all want the same goal and that is to win state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each season, Grant and the Pirates fell short. But that didn\u2019t slow college scouts from coveting the four-star recruit, rated the No. 8 2022 recruit overall from Indiana by\u00a0247Sports Composite<\/u>.<\/p>\n

He was offered 15 scholarships, including Ohio State, Wisconsin and Arizona State, but Michigan was always at the forefront.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe massive interior prospect looks like a classic nose guard but is not just a gap plugger in high school,\u201d 247Sports national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu wrote May 20, 2021. \u201cRuns surprisingly well for a big guy, shows closing speed and will pursue plays. Nimble and can make offensive linemen miss their punch but can also drive them straight back with brute strength.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/picture><\/figure>\n
Michigan defensive lineman Kenneth Grant jumps trying to block the field goal attempt by Minnesota kicker Dragan Kesich during first-half action between Michigan and Minnesota at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. \/ Eric Seals \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHas to be more consistent play to play but has upside because size and ability to move at that size are rare.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his senior season, he had 38 tackles, 14.5 which for loss with 6.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hurries. He also forced four fumbles, added two recoveries and was a master at blocking the football: four field goals, two punts and two extra points.<\/p>\n

Also a starting guard on offense, he helped pave the way for senior Lavarion Logan who rushed for school records of 2,256 yards and 38 touchdowns. The Tigers averaged a whopping 445 yards per game and scored 74 touchdowns.<\/p>\n

As good as Grant was on offense, defense was always his calling. As a two-way star he was picked as the Duneland Athletic Conference Player of the Year.<\/p>\n

His highest honor as a football player might have come from Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh who called Grant \u201cA gift from the football gods.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bitter late-season defeats at Merrillville High School in Indiana will seem distant memory once the massive defensive lineman gets name announced by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell Oct… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING : Miami Dolphins pick defensive tackle Kenneth Grant in the first round of 2025 NFL Draft - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=43734\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING : Miami Dolphins pick defensive tackle Kenneth Grant in the first round of 2025 NFL Draft - 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