Raiders rookie OT Charles Grant more than a small-school prospect: ‘He's truly special'

New York Times

16-05-2025

William & Mary football coach Mike London was an assistant at Boston College in 2000 when he learned that his daughter, Ticynn, was diagnosed with Fanconi anemia, a rare blood disorder that can lead to cancer and bone marrow failure. London and his wife sought a match through the National Marrow Donor Program but couldn't find one.
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London had his other children tested, but they weren't a match, either. With desperation setting in, London and his wife got tested. London came up as a match, and he and Ticynn underwent a transplant in 2003 that ultimately saved her life.
The experience moved London to lead and participate in bone marrow drives throughout his coaching career. When he brought it up during spring practice in 2022, a young offensive lineman named Charles Grant was quick to add his name to the national bone marrow registry.
Grant went on to become a starter at left tackle that season. He played well enough to land on the radar of NFL scouts.
'That was when the thought was like, 'I can actually do this,'' Grant said last month. 'It's something that I grabbed and just tried to strive for.'
Then, in May 2023, he was notified that he had been identified as a match for a Hodgkin's lymphoma patient. He called the coaching staff to notify them that he'd be following through as a donor.
'When they called him and said, 'Hey, you're a match,' there was no hesitation,' former William & Mary offensive line coach Mario Acitelli said recently. 'It wasn't like, 'Oh, well, let's see what kind of procedure it would need to be to determine if I'm going to do it.' It was like, 'I can save somebody's life? Hell yeah, I'm doing it.''
Grant underwent a successful peripheral blood stem cell donation shortly after. His taking the time to do that, even as he aspired to play in the NFL, resonated with William & Mary players and coaches alike.
'I tell you what, man, you're talking to a guy that saved his daughter's life, and when you get a guy like that,' London said Tuesday before taking a moment to gather his emotions. 'That's a big-time deal. It's a character thing that I see in him. He's truly special. I love the guy because of what he stands for.'
This offseason, under general manager John Spytek and coach Pete Carroll, the Las Vegas Raiders placed an increased emphasis on character when deciding whether a player was worth adding to the team. As much as Grant's 6-foot-5, 309-pound frame, exceptional athleticism, uncommon movement skills and ability to manhandle defenders got their attention in the draft process, so did who he was as a person.
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'He's a man of high character,' London said. 'I'm so proud of him, of what he's done and what he's still yet to do.'
The top-30 visit Grant took to Raiders headquarters leading up to the draft confirmed he was the total package. And when Grant was still on the board at pick No. 99 in the third round, the Raiders didn't hesitate.
'A good athlete and a good person,' Spytek said last month. 'He can really move his feet and run into space. (Offensive coordinator) Chip (Kelly) is super fired up about getting him in there. He fits the scheme great.'
Grant is aware of the negative stigma often attached to prospects from small schools like William & Mary, an FCS program. There's typically some doubt they'll be able to cut it against NFL-level talent. While Grant acknowledges it'll be a steep uptick in competition, he believes he can silence the skeptics.
'I have a chip on my shoulder,' Grant said. 'I know what I can do. I've just got to prove it to everybody.'
day one @CharlesGrant51#TribeInTheNFL | #RaiderNation
📸 @Raiders pic.twitter.com/BW6CeM05Ig
— William & Mary Tribe Football (@WMTribeFootball) May 10, 2025
Grant didn't play sports until he picked up wrestling in seventh grade, and he didn't play football until he was a junior at Churchland High in Portsmouth, Va. The coaching staff put him at left tackle and, while he was raw, he showed some early flashes that he attributed to his wrestling background.
'(It was) the mental fortitude. It takes a lot to go out on the mat and just keep doing it even when you're dog tired,' Grant said. '(You have to) just keep fighting and finishing the match. … I used to wrestle for like four hours a day. I know I can persevere through anything I've been going through. … And I'd also say my ability to move off the ball, be quick, be nimble and cut the backside off, just things like that. I knew how to position my body.'
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Nonetheless, Grant remained a no-star recruit. He weighed just 240 pounds and hadn't participated in many camps since he continued to wrestle. He landed a Division II offer from Virginia-Wise following his junior season, and his only Division I offer came from William & Mary.
Grant committed to William & Mary at the start of his senior year. He received more offers after earning first-team all-region honors that season but stuck with his pledge since William & Mary is less than an hour from his hometown and the Tribe staff showed faith in him early.
'He was an offensive lineman that had some growth and development still left to do,' London said, 'but he had measurables, he was athletic and he had a great attitude.'
When Grant enrolled in 2020, his first order of business was bulking up. Even at the FCS level, 240 pounds wouldn't cut it at offensive tackle. He redshirted as a freshman and spent that time improving his physique, refining his technique and working on the team's zone-based blocking scheme.
Grant progressed enough to start five games the next season, but the real turning point came in 2022. William & Mary was down to just five scholarship offensive linemen, and then one got hurt in fall camp.
That put more pressure on Grant to step up. Grant started every game that season, and then did the same in 2023 on his way to being named a first-team FCS All-American.
'The confidence level (went up),' Acitelli said. 'Once he knew, 'Hey, I can be good at this and I can be dominant,' it really started to take off.'
Thank you!! https://t.co/AWdFQTOWt6
— Charles Grant (@CharlesGrant51) April 29, 2025
Following that breakout 2023 season, Grant had several opportunities to leave William & Mary for a bigger program. FBS teams attempted to poach him with lucrative NIL offers.
'There were some teams that offered him a lot of money to forgo his last year here and go to their place,' London said.
Grant knew William & Mary wouldn't be able to match those deals, but he turned them down anyway. The biggest reason Grant stuck with the Tribe was the connection he had with his teammates over four years. They voted to name him a team captain, and he went on to have his best collegiate season as he was again named a first-team FCS All-American.
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'William & Mary had given him an opportunity, and he wanted to make sure he finished it with those guys,' Acitelli said. 'He was dominant. I mean, he was throwing guys around and knocking guys down on an almost play-by-play basis. He was cutting guys off. We never had to worry about, 'Yeah, if we run the ball to the right, is he going to be able to cut off the 4i or the three technique?' That wasn't an issue. And then we knew when we ran to this side, there was going to be movement on the front side. It was a pretty awesome deal. …
'I moved from offensive line (coach) to offensive coordinator last year. I still coached the offensive line, but then on game day, I was trying to do two different things. … It forced (Grant) to become even more of a leader on game day and be more vocal.'
.@WMTribeFootball @CharlesGrant51 what a fascinating prospect. Great length; Great feet; lots of action. Good coaching; more strength and we have a starting tackle in the NFL #nfldraft #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/IvbK6F0sPU
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) April 20, 2025
London compared Grant to a smaller version of former NFL offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, who was drafted fourth overall in 2006 and went on to become a three-time Pro Bowl selection. That's a lofty expectation, and Grant has plenty to work on before he gets there.
Most notably, Grant remains light for a left tackle. He needs to continue getting stronger and adding mass. Without that, he won't be able to anchor and handle the more powerful rushers in the NFL.
Concerns about his size, the consistency of his technique, coming from an FCS program and a late-season knee injury that rendered him unable to participate in the Senior Bowl or test at the combine hurt his draft stock. The Raiders drafted him even though there isn't a clear path to immediate playing time with Kolton Miller entrenched at left tackle.
It'd be more feasible for Grant to compete with DJ Glaze at right tackle, but switching sides isn't as easy and requires a significant amount of mental and physical adjustments. The Raiders plan to cross-train him to see if he can pull it off.
'We do not hold them back and keep them out of the fire,' Carroll said. 'We're going to put them in there right away and let them see where they stack up.'
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Something that'll help Grant is that he's a good fit for Kelly's system, which utilizes a zone-based blocking scheme similar to the one he played in at William & Mary. That and his unique combination of traits will give him a shot to compete for a role early on.
'I have great athletic ability,' Grant said, 'but if I can put the perfect technique to that, I know I'd become a player that's unstoppable.'