Highland grad Ryan Grigson won the lottery this week and never purchased a ticket.
The Philadelphia Eagles' director of player personnel and long-time front office fixture landed his dream job Wednesday when the Indianapolis Colts named him their new general manager.
Indianapolis is hosting Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5.
The NFL Combine is held there annually.
For Ryan Grigson, it's good to be home again.
"I obviously have got my work cut out for me," he said of rebuilding a team that went 2-14 and could lose its franchise quarterback, Peyton Manning.
"Talking with (team president) Jim Irsay for just a couple of minutes, I knew this was the place for me. I'm fortunate he thought it was the place for me as well."
Being drafted was a thrill. Being Colts' GM, by comparison, is off the charts.
"This time I'm not just a piece to the puzzle," Grigson said. "I'm somebody who's trying to put the puzzle together."
Recognized nationally as an excellent evaluator of college talent, Grigson has always been a fighter on and off the field. It's also helped get him where he is today.
His sophomore season at Purdue, he suffered a blow to the abdomen in a game with Minnesota that nearly took his life.
"I don't think I ever had an injury from Griffith Pop Warner up until that time," Grigson recalled. "I got hit in the stomach, it lacerated my pancreas, I had kidney failure, then pneumonia, was in the hospital five weeks and intensive care two weeks.
"They told me if I wasn't 20 years old, I probably wouldn't be here."
Grigson returned and was eventually drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals.
"I have so much to be thankful for. That's what's helped build my faith," Grigson said. "It was a tough time but it almost was a blessing for me because at an earlier age, it helped me realize what's important and helped put it in perspective."
At the time, younger brother Dru was a freshman at Highland.
"I didn't realize how severe his situation was until I actually saw him in the hospital," Dru said. "Ryan was always Superman to me. You couldn't hurt the guy. It was difficult to see him immobile because I had never seen him like that.
"He was always the biggest, toughest, strongest guy I had ever been around. That just shows his drive and determination to come back from that and say: 'I'm getting back on the field.' It's just another example of who he is."
Those who know the 1990 Highland grad and former Purdue tackle aren't surprised by his recent good fortune.
"I'm not gonna say I'm shocked because I knew from the time he got involved with this it was something that was going to happen," said Dru, an eastern regional scout for the Arizona Cardinals.
"It's the same thing when he was playing. I never doubted for a second he'd play football in the NFL. When he sets his mind to something, it's going to get done. Period."
A back injury ended Ryan Grigson's pro career early, so he set his sights on competing at the corporate level and struck gold as a premier college scout.
"Just dare to tell Ryan he can't do something. He's been told that since Day 1," Dru said. "He plays in the Big Ten. He's a captain in the Big Ten. He gets drafted in the sixth round. He gets into scouting and he's a GM by 39.
"He thrives off of challenges and he's got a major challenge in front of him with what's going on in Indy."
The Colts were AFC South champs in 2010, then lost MVP quarterback Peyton Manning this season with a neck injury and finished 2-14.
"Like everything else he's been challenged with, he'll fix Indy," Dru Grigson said. "You're not talking 8-8 or 9-7. Their fans are used to double-digit wins, so this season was a real shock.
"They got the man to right the ship and get them back where they belong."
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