The Sports Network has honored Boomer Grigsby as national I-AA defensive player of the week after his game-saving tackle and 17 stops against Murray State in Illinois States home thriller win at Hancock Stadium Saturday night. The Canton, Ill., native was also named Gateway Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
The sophomore linebackers tackle came on a two-point conversion at the one-yard line that propelled Illinois State to a one-point win, 24-23, over Murray State. The stop on MSUs Garner Byars came with 26 seconds remaining in the game and Grigsbys effort spearheaded the ISU defense that surrendered just 135 passing yards and forced eight punts on the day.
Grigsby finished the contest with 10 solo tackles, including four tackles for loss (-13) and one sack for a two-yard loss. His 17 tackles against the Racers marked the best single-game performance by the sophomore linebacker. Grigsby, who already holds the Illinois State freshman season record with 93 stops, currently has 36 for the year.
"I was a little surprised by the honor," Grigsby said. "Ray Robinson called me up and told me and I am so honored but really proud because of my defensive teammates. We came out and played really well (against Murray State). If you watch the film and know anything about football, I think the defensive front was outstanding. My teammates held people up so I could run free a lot more than getting double-teamed.
"The defensive line and secondary was amazing," Grigsby said. "Because of that I got to focus a lot more on the run and spying on the QB."
Grigsby commented also about the team effort put forth against the Racers that he feels propelled him to perform to a nationally-recognized level.
"Everyone stuck it out and it was a definite test to everyone's character," Grigsby said. "All week long we preached about believing in one another and we trusted each other and worked as one unit in that game and hopefully we can continue to do that the rest of the season."
