Texas DE combines technique and strength

Junior to Watch: John Granger

High School: Irving (Texas) Nimitz

Position: Defensive End and Offensive Tackle

Size and Speed: Granger is 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds. He has a 40-yard dash time of 4.8 seconds (hand held) and a vertical leap of 27 inches.

Statistics: Defensively he had 18 solo tackles, six assisted tackles, four sacks and one fumble recovery.

Honors: He was named second team all-district as a defensive end and first team all-city as an offensive tackle.

Favorite Schools: He is hearing from West Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M, Iowa, Kansas, Army, Kansas State, TCU, SMU, Arkansas and UCLA.

He has no offers yet.

Currently, West Virginia is showing him the most interest and recruiting him the hardest.

When asked for a list of his current favorites, he named the following schools (listed in order of mention):

1. TCU - "A buddy of mine, Matt Hines, got a scholarship from them and signed with them this year. It's close to home and I have a chance to play there."

2. SMU - "The same reasons as TCU. It's close and it's a smaller school. I'll have the possibility to play there."

3. Texas A&M - "My girlfriend has friends that live there. I've been there a few times. The atmosphere is exciting."

When asked if he had a "dream visit," Granger said, "Probably Michigan. Ever since I was a kid, I've had a fascination with them. When I was eight years old, I went to the Alamo Bowl - I think it was in '97 or '96 - and I've liked them ever since."

Skinny: He hasn't made a decision on which summer camps he'll be attending yet.

He considers his strong points to be: "I'm mentally tough. I'm real good at learning from film. Also my technique and my physicalness as a player. I make good utilization of my strength."

He benches 350 pounds and squats 450 pounds.

His priorities on his college choice are, "Academically it's important that I would be able to get the degree I want which is either real estate or sports medicine. The atmosphere with the coaches, the opportunity to play and the location are also important. If I go out of state, I would move up north by my father who lives in Pennsylvania."

His goals for next year are, "To be a team captain, make the playoffs, be a leader and win ballgames."

He has a GPA of 3.33 and will be taking the SAT on May 4.

In his free time he enjoys, "Working and spending my money. Going out to eat and having a good time with my friends."