In two weeks, Garrett Grayson will jet off to New Orleans and into the life of an NFL quarterback.
But before that, he returned to the spot where his NFL dream took flight.
On a perfect spring Saturday — the kind that makes anyone nostalgic for home — friends from every phase of Grayson’s past gathered. They came to celebrate what he called “the most special moment of my life” — being drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the third round on Friday.
The crowd, including some who drove from Colorado, swelled in front of his boyhood home, a one-story rambler on a quiet street in Orchards. Each guest brought hugs, handshakes and a set of memories that Grayson recalled from the playbook of his past.
There were friends he’s known since grade school at nearby Silver Star Elementary.
“We always got in trouble at recess playing tackle football,” Grayson remembered. “It was supposed to be two-hand touch, but we’d always be getting after it and tackling.”
On a table lay mementoes from the earliest days of Grayson’s football journey.
There was a trophy he won on a team named the Shorty Niners in 2000. Beside that was a Clark County Youth Football trophy from 2005.
Lying face-up was a plaque showing the 2009 Heritage High School football team with Grayson’s face featured prominently as the “Player of the Year.”
The timeline continued to photos of Grayson at Colorado State, where he set every major passing record during three years as a starter.
Bringing his journey into the present, Saints apparel and black and gold balloons spruced up the canopy tent, dining tables and buffet where guests would later chow down.
It had been a furious sprint for his family to gather so much Saints gear. It wasn’t until 7:15 p.m. the previous evening that Grayson learned New Orleans was in his future.
Watching the NFL draft in his living room with a small group of family and friends, Grayson saw teams that had shown him interest choose other players.
Denver? Nope.
Cleveland? Nope.
Dallas? Nope.
“It was just a roller-coaster of emotions,” Grayson said. “I started getting worried whether I was even going to go (Friday).”
Then, with the 11th pick in the third round and 75th overall, New Orleans made Grayson its highest quarterback draft pick since Archie Manning in 1971.
“The phone rang and I saw Louisiana,” Grayson said. “I think my first words were ‘oh my God, oh my God.'”
On the other end were Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and head coach Sean Payton.
“They just said they were extremely happy to have me on board,” Grayson said.
After an initial burst of cheering when that phone rang, the living room got dead quiet while Grayson took the phone call that changed his life.
“Then as soon as I hung up, everyone just went nuts,” he said.
His phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since. Grayson said he has received 315 messages since his name flashed across the television as the third quarterback taken in the 2015 draft.
Many of Grayson’s friends have asked exactly how it feels to see a lifelong dream come true.
“I don’t think you can really predict how you’ll feel,” Grayson said. “You obviously try, but I can’t even describe what it felt like.
“I thought I was going to be able to hold it together. I didn’t think I would cry unless my dad started to cry. But once I hung up the phone, I just started crying like crazy.”
Grayson’s exuberance was mixed with relief. The four months since his college career ended have been a whirlwind of workouts, wonderment and wondering.
His father took charge of hiring an agent. As the draft neared, Grayson’s stock steadily rose as he performed well before scouts and under the ESPN spotlight at Jon Gruden’s quarterback camp.
He was flown to Chicago, where ESPN put on a lavish photo shoot that saw Grayson assume identities ranging from a pizza guy to businessman to a heart throb.
“The weirdest thing is actually getting stuff for free,” he said. “In the NCAA, you obviously can’t accept gifts. Now, people are handing you clothes and shoes. When it first happened, I actually turned some shoes away because my first instinct was to say no.”
Grayson calls New Orleans a perfect situation. There’s no pressure to start right away. He’ll be the understudy to a future Hall-of-Famer in Drew Brees, 36, who still has two years on his contract.
There’s no telling where Grayson’s professional football road will lead. But recently his mind has flashed back often to the memory of where that journey began.
Fittingly, it was also on a road. As his mother drove to his grandparents house, 8-year-old Garrett Grayson told her he wanted to someday play in the NFL.
Fifteen years later, Grayson has arrived there. But he’ll never forget where he started, as evidenced by the dozens of Clark County friends at his boyhood home on Saturday.
“This is the group that’s shown me love through the tough times and good times,” he said. “It was so important that I be here for this moment.”
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