Grace growing in his position

Mi’Quise Grace was pretty business-like in assessing his 56-yard fumble return for a touchdown in Saturday’s 34-24 playoff win over Sacramento State at the DakotaDome.

It’s not in his nature to get real crazy about these things even if inside we all know there had to be a little internal mayhem seeing that ball on the ground with the end zone in the background and nothing in between.

“It was exciting to get my first collegiate touchdown in a playoff game,” Grace said. “It was a high-energy game so, yes, it was pretty exciting to put some points on the scoreboard.”

But what were you thinking about after you picked the ball up? What was that like knowing you had a chance to score a touchdown in a game like that?

“I saw the ball on the ground and I saw an opportunity,” he said. “I took advantage of the opportunity.”

These are the words of someone who wouldn’t be surprised if this happens again sometime.

There is a backstory to the defensive end’s touchdown, which put the Coyotes up 17-0 early in the second quarter.

Earlier in the week, the 6-4, 255-pound freshman, who redshirted last year, was getting his hands up in practice, hindering the passing game from the line of scrimmage. Freshman wide receiver Andre Jacobs boldly predicted Grace was going to get a pick-6 on Saturday.

“Andre called the shot on that,” said defensive line coach Rob Snyder. “Mi’Quise got his touchdown, just not the way we expected. And then afterwards, of course, Andre says, ‘You’ve got me to thank for that. I’ve spoken it in into existence.’”

Grace’s existence at USD began when he was being recruited as a defensive end out of Princeton High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a running back at Princeton – a school that has sent several players to the NFL – until an unannounced growth spurt completely changed his role on the football field within a matter of months.

He was 5-9 going into his junior year and 6-3 with some beef by the end of it. Taking handoffs and covering receivers was no longer part of the plan. In addition to a new wardrobe, he was going to need a new position.

“It came out of nowhere,” Grace said. “I had some knee pain my freshman year and my sophomore year that might have meant something was coming but I really didn’t think I was going to get as tall as I am today.”

Grace is relatively new to the position then, since deciding USD was where he wanted to play football. It can be viewed as a little bit of a disadvantage perhaps, but it is also an indication that the next area of growth will come in his ability to play this position he grew into at the last minute.

“I’ve learned an awful lot since I got here,” Grace said. “I’ve picked up the pass rushing but I’m really trying to understand the game better. It’s not just about pass rushing. It’s also about playing with discipline and being physical at the point of attack. I’ve learned a lot about that this season.”

Grace has 3.5 sacks in the last two games so he’s not just getting his name on the stat sheet for scoring touchdowns. That’s what you call a team player – he scores touchdowns and he sacks the quarterback. Plus, he has six pass breakups, which puts him right behind defensive backs Dennis Shorter and Myles Harden in that category.

“He’s a great athlete – I didn’t see anybody catching up to him on the fumble return,” Snyder said. “It was the right guy that got that ball. But he’s a very conscientious player and always very conscious of the football so that play was a product of his habits.”

As it is for other young players on the Coyote roster, being part of a team that is now in the FCS quarterfinals, with a sold-out game with North Dakota State coming this Saturday, is a learning experience in itself. There are benefits to being around all these wins that go beyond getting the chance to play football in the second week of December.

“It’s been great being part of this success,” Grace said. “It has been great to contribute to help the team and to be around people who are doing good things. You learn a lot when you see it up close. They let you know how close those dreams could be for you.”

Grace is the second-oldest in his family with five brothers and a sister. They’ve been able to watch their son and brother play live a few times this season. The other games they have watched on TV.

Part of being a good brother, Grace will tell you, is being a good example.

“They look up to me,” he said. “You have to let them know that whatever dreams they have they can achieve. You want them to know that whatever they want in life, they can have. I know how happy they are to see me play football at this level. I want them to know they can be better than I am.”