B1G teams stand out for Grady

Dublin (Ohio) Coffman linebacker Griffin Grady has seen his offer list continue to grow this spring, but a couple programs out of the Big Ten have his attention right now.

"Probably the top couple are Wisconsin and Northwestern that I have the best relationship with right no," Grady said. "Those are probably at the top, though I don't know which one is ahead of the other yet."

Grady was on the phone earlier this week with Northwestern assistant coach Matt MacPherson and he also has a close relationship with linebackers coach Randy Bates.

"Northwestern is a school that my family and I know pretty well," Grady said. "My dad graduated from there and was involved in the Sports Marketing department there. We've kind of been 'Cats fans."

Although Grady does not have the family connections at Wisconsin that he does at Northwestern, he has been involved with the Badger's coaching staff for a long time.

"I got to know their coaching staff at Pitt - Coach (Paul) Chryst and Coach (Joe) Rudolph, mainly," Grady said. "Then they took the job at Wisconsin and of course they've offered at Wisconsin too. Coach Rudolph is the offensive coordinator, of course, so it has been good to get to know Coach (Tim) Tibesar and Coach (Dave) Aranda, get to know the defense and get a little more involved with them."

"I visited Wisconsin and Northwestern in the same weekend. I liked both places, both campuses are great and I like both coaching staffs. It's going to be hard to pick between the two. Of course there are always more possibilities that could come in later, so we'll see what happens."

A 6-foot-3, 206-pound outside linebacker prospect, Grady is looking to familiarize himself with some of the other programs that have offered, including Power Five programs Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland and Virginia.

"Virginia was the most recent to offer. That was last week mid-week," Grady said. "They just came into the school for the second time, but you can't really talk to them too much in the school. I gave them a call later that night and then they offered.

"Other than seeing them in the school, I hadn't really had a relationship with them. I'd like to get their coaching staff a little more before I have an opinion on their program and what they're about."

Although he does not have any visits scheduled in the immediate future, Grady would like to get to several more campuses in the coming months. A pre-season decision is possible, but he is also considering taking a few official visits in the fall.