Grants stock skyrockets at Ole Miss camp

Terrell Grant didn't have the notoriety of some of the other wide receivers at Ole Miss' invitation-only elite camp when he showed up on Saturday morning.

During stretching, the Cleveland, Miss., wide receiver was overshadowed by Tupelo's Chad Bumphis and Justin Bean, Oxford's Montez Phillips and d'Iberville's Kevin Norwood and Jacoby Bell.

By the end of the day Saturday, however, Grant was being treated like one of the most wanted players in camp because, well, he just might have changed his immediate future.

"I did pretty good," Grant said Sunday. "I caught a couple of passes. Nobody knew who I was until I ran my 40. I ran a 4.49 and then I was rolling. I jumped a 31 (inches) on the vertical. (Ole Miss wide receivers) Coach (Ron) Dickerson was getting real close to me and trying to help me out with my release and my cuts and stuff. In the one on ones, I was doing pretty good, too. It was me and Chad Bumphis and Justin Bean constantly going over and over."

Grant made one big play after another during the one-on-one session at the end of camp, and his stock visibly jumped.

"Coach (Houston)Nutt said he wants to offer me," Grant said. "Hopefully that comes into play."

As it stands, the race to land Grant's considerable services could be one of the more interesting ones to watch in the Magnolia State. Mississippi State offered Herman a gray shirt scholarship earlier this month, meaning he would sign with the Bulldogs but not report until January 2010.

"That means I'd have to go a full year without doing anything and me personally, I don't want to miss that playing time and get out of that rhythm," Grant said. "It's good because I want to get my degrees and the hours I would get would carry on. It's an advantage and a disadvantage, but I really don't want to miss any time. I just want to get on to summer session and be dealing with football. At Ole Miss, the way they set things up, they said I could get a degree in 3 ½ years instead of going the full four. I liked what they said and they really got me interested."

Two other potential advantages for the Rebels are Ole Miss' highly distinguished business school and the presence on the roster of one of Grant's close friends, freshman cornerback Derrick Herman

"He's like a big brother," Grant said of Herman. "That would be real big for me, knowing I have someone up there that I already know."

As a junior, Grant had 20 catches for 250 yards and a pair of touchdowns on offense while recording 30 tackles, three interceptions and a fumble recovery on defense.

Having waited this long to get on the radar, Grant said he's in no hurry to make a decision, though it appears his will be an Egg Bowl battle between Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

"It's pretty even," Grant said. "I can't put one over the other right now. It's still early. I want to go to their games and I want to get to know the players on both teams. I'm neutral."