Grady: I Should Have Stayed at OU

It takes a big man to admit he's wrong, but that's what Tommy Grady did on Tuesday. In town for the OU Pro Day, Grady said he should have never transferred from OU and regretted the decision soon after he was gone.

One of the people working out at the University of Oklahoma’s Pro Day on Tuesday who impressed me the most wasn’t even a Sooner.

At least not anymore.

Tommy Grady strode into the Everest Training Center on Tuesday and got more than one double-take.

As you’ll recall, Grady came to Oklahoma as a highly-touted quarterback, but eventually transferred to Utah in 2005 after falling behind Paul Thompson and Rhett Bomar on the depth chart.

One year later, Thompson was at wide receiver and Bomar was headed back to Texas after being kicked off the team, leaving a void at quarterback that Grady likely would have filled had he been here.

But even before all that happened, Grady knew he’d made a mistake in leaving OU and was man enough to admit it Tuesday.

“I regret leaving,” he said outright. “Like coach (Chuck) Long said, it’s not always greener on the other side. I looked forward to leaving, but when I left, I wished I would have stayed here.”

Grady competed for a starting position for the Utes, but was never able to land it. All the while, he still had Oklahoma on his mind with thoughts of what could have been.

“I’d try not to think about it too much, but it was in the back of my mind,” he said.

It’s an experience he said he’s grown from.

“I should have stuck it out,” he said. “But I’ve grown up a lot, matured a lot.”

Grady actually worked out for scouts in Utah on Monday, then flew to Oklahoma City. However, after a cancelled flight, he didn’t make it into the Oklahoma until about 2 a.m. Tuesday. The Oklahoma workout began at 8:30 a.m.

“I was a little tired, but I felt like I did alright,” he said.

At least two reasons he wanted to perform at Oklahoma was the better field and more scouts. He said there were 13 scouts in Utah. At least two dozen representing more than 20 teams were in Norman.

“My agent said it would be a good idea. I talked to coach (Bob) Stoops about it and he said come on in.”

Grady measured out at 6-foot-6 and 239 pounds. He ran the 40 twice, first in 4.94 then in 4.95 seconds. Most impressive to me was his performance on the bench press. He put up 225 pounds 18 times, which was third among those who lifted. He came in behind linemen Steven Coleman (21) and Alonzo Dotson (20).

Making it that more impressive is the length of his arms (34 1/8 inches), which isn’t conducive to a lot reps on the bench.

Grady, who at first was thought likely to go undrafted, said he’s been told that he may get drafted in the later rounds.

He’s also got a tryout coming up for the Canadian Football League.

“And a couple of scouts called my agent today, so I’m going to have some personal tryouts.”