Leader Of The Line Lesean Grant’s Intentions Carry Lot Of Weight In Lc’s Blocking

What most people see isn’t what the Lewis and Clark Tigers get when it comes to Lesean Grant.

Most people follow Grant before or after a play when the Tigers are playing a Greater Spokane League football game at Albi Stadium.

You can’t help but notice the 310-pound senior when he is walking to the line of scrimmage or, seconds later, when he’s trudging back to the huddle.

In between, though, as others are following the ball, Grant is doing his thing, which usually means one of the LC running backs is following him or the quarterback is hiding behind him.

“He’s the best drive blocker on our team and the best pass blocker,” said LC coach John Hook. “He does a good job (as pulling guard).

“You watch him play - he comes off the ball as fast as anyone on the offensive line.

Which, for those not accustomed to watching line play, is surprising.

“What’s important to me is how fast he runs 5 yards. He has very good quickness,” Hook said. “He has excellent strength and he has great feet. Usually when you say someone has great feet, they can move their feet and they have great balance.

“Combined with Lesean’s physical strength, that is a real good combination,” Hook said. “He is the acknowledged leader of our offensive line, an offensive line that is improving.”

Grant enjoys what he is doing, which is putting aggressive defensive linemen on their heels.

“I can pass-block and I can run-block, but I do run blocking better,” said the soft-spoken giant.

“I like to blow them off the line, put them on their skates. That’s what I prefer.”

It’s not just a matter of Grant being bigger and stronger than his rivals. “He’s become a real student of the game and of his position,” Hook said. “In a test that I give to offensive linemen, they have to know the assignments on a variety of plays for everyone (except wide receivers). He’s the only guy that got 100 percent.”

Grant has also come out of the games with top marks.

So what is Grant’s future?

“I always wanted to go to college to play a little ball, see how far I can get,” Grant said. “I don’t know what college, maybe go to a (junior college) and then transfer.” Grant acknowledged that while he is in decent shape, he probably needs to get down to about 290 pounds. Coaches might even say 270. “I’m in shape now,” Grant said. “To play at the college level I’m not in the top shape that I could be.”

Hook said, “The fire is there. It is up to Lesean to heat it up to reach that goal.”

However, it’s not physical conditioning that keeps him from playing on the defensive line as much as it is a slight respiratory condition that affects him during games as well as during conditioning.

Grant knows he has a lot of work ahead if he wants to play beyond this season. His brother, Avont, is a starting defensive lineman at Eastern Washington University, although he is currently sidelined with a knee injury.

“It pumps you up a little bit (to have a brother playing college ball,” Grant said. “He’s stronger. He’s at a higher level.”

Which is kind of where Grant is these days, compared to a lot of the competition, making him a marked man for every opponent.

“They know we’re coming,” Grant said of LC plays run behind his blocks, “but they can’t really stop it.”

And that is worth watching.

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