Samajie Grant signs with British Columbia Lions

The former Wildcat is heading to the Canadian Football League

After being out of football for a year, former Arizona Wildcats receiver and running back Samajie Grant has signed with the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League, he announced on Twitter.

I laugh at myself when i think about how i used to tell God what i wanted him to do and my plan, when i was pose to just follow his lead #Live&Learned #Signed #Canada pic.twitter.com/uGO1Bssy6R

— 10GAMBINO♋ (@samajie_grant) March 30, 2018

Grant was a three-star prospect coming out of Colony High School (Ontario, CA), ranked No. 678 overall, No. 89 as a receiver, and No. 73 overall in the state of California. He chose Arizona over UCLA, Utah and Washington State, among others.

He caught passes from six different quarterbacks during his time at Arizona, contributing mostly at wide receiver as early as his true freshman season. In 50 games at Arizona, Grant accumulated 145 catches, 1,639 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Halfway through his senior season, he made the switch to running back out of pure need, and he stepped up.

Nick Wilson had been banged up, Orlando Bradford had been dismissed from the team, J.J. Taylor suffered a season-ending ankle injury to start Pac-12 play, Tyrell Johnson had even given the role a whirl, but Rich Rodriguez ultimately decided to have Grant make the transition and fill the void.

With the depleted depth, Grant finished the final five games of 2016 with 74 carries for 461 yards and six touchdowns, an average of 6.23 yards per carry.

Grant capped his Arizona career off with 19 carries for 176 yards and three rushing touchdowns in a 56-35 win over Arizona State, helping break the school rushing record for yards in a game. Arizona did not attempt a single pass in the second half.

The 5-foot-9, 175 pound utility back was invited try out with the Detroit Lions after going undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Since being let go by the Lions, Grant had spent his time continuing to train back at home in Compton, California and Tucson for a career in football.

Now, Grant will take his talents north of the border, and will restart his professional career with the Lions. The rookie minimum is $54,000 a year in the CFL. Their season begins on June 16 as they take on Montreal Alouettes.

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