Aug. 27.
It’s a date looming large in the mind of Indianapolis Colts linebacker Grant Stuard. By the end of the day on Aug. 27, the Colts will have had to trim 38 names from their current 91-man roster, and Stuard is hoping his is still there.
>> Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more stories where sports and faith connect <<
Since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted him out of his hometown University of Houston as the last pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, making him that year’s “Mr. Irrelevant,” Stuard has had a home in the league. Appearing mostly on special teams, he made 15 combined tackles and forced a fumble that fall. Then in August 2022, Stuard was traded to the Colts, where he’s continued to be a special teams ace.
Last season, Stuard started his first game at linebacker, recorded the first quarterback hit of his NFL career, and scored his first touchdown. Against the Tennessee Titans on Dec. 3, 2023, he scooped up a blocked punt and took it 18 yards to the end zone with his wild, frizzy locks bobbing behind him.
Stuard will be 26 in October, and he’s hoping that — despite his meager measurables — the Colts value his past production and his tenacious approach to the game, and reward him with a permanent roster spot. He and the rest of his teammates have one more preseason game — Thursday at 8 p.m. ET in Cincinnati — to prove they’re deserving.
Stuard’s yearly battle for a roster spot is a challenge, for sure, but nothing compared to what he’s already overcome in his life.
Growing up just outside of Houston, Stuard had a messy home life he hid from everyone he could. His father, Dawayne, was arrested dozens of times between 1995-2020 and was in and out of prison while Grant grew up. His mother, Laurel, was a drug addict who has overdosed on multiple occasions and was a sex worker from before Grant was even born.
Grant seemingly slept on every couch in the Houston area during his middle school and high school years. Meals were no guarantee. He had little support from his parents as he tried to juggle school, football and raising his younger brother, JoJo, and younger sister, Samaria.
Grant persevered for years despite his desolate home life, but the burden began to wear on him. His performance in the classroom and on the football field slipped. His deceit began to lead to broken relationships. Eventually, sadness became despair, which became thoughts of suicide.
As a 20-year-old student at Houston, Grant drove to the end of a pier in Galveston, Texas, in the middle of the night and looked over the edge at the jagged rocks below.
“I just wanted to be gone,” he told The Athletic in July. “I wanted to erase myself.”
What stopped him was laughter; a father and son were fishing about 100 yards away. Grant’s thoughts drifted to JoJo and Samaria. He turned around and drove off.
About six months later, Stuard found himself sitting in his cousin’s church service, when the pastor seemed to be speaking directly about him. Then, the congregation broke into prayer groups and a man approached with another word of prophecy.
“For me, that was God showing me He existed,” Grant told The Athletic. “He was telling me He cared about me, like genuinely cared about me, something that was missing my whole life.”
With a newfound faith in Jesus, Grant began to turn his life around. He started to eat healthier, be honest with those who cared about him, and chase an NFL dream that was growing more attainable by the day.
Meanwhile at home, Grant pursued custody of Samaria to keep her safe. His mother resisted at first, but eventually signed the necessary documents. She would overdose again, not long after, but it would be her last time. Laurel entered Turning Point, a rehab facility in Tampa, Florida, got sober, stayed 90 days, and began to come to terms with what drugs had done to her life and her family. She’s back at Turning Point now, not as a patient but as an employee, helping others recover as she has.
And Grant is now a parent himself, as he and his wife, Josie, welcomed a baby boy, Elihu, on May 24.
Grant’s life is one of overcoming incredible obstacles, but for him, none of it is owing to himself.
“I would like to thank Jesus Christ, the Lord of my life, for completely changing me and making me into the person I am today,” he wrote in a post on Instagram while announcing his decision to forego Houston’s bowl appearance to prepare for the draft. “I want to encourage anyone who does not have a relationship with Jesus to seek Him. You will not be disappointed.”
Stuard wears eye black in the shape of a cross under his right eye during games and posts regularly about his faith in Christ on social media. He’s also been active in raising money to fight sex trafficking, hunger and poverty in the Houston area.
“All praise to God for another year,” he wrote on Instagram as he reflected on the 2023-24 season, “may he bless you and keep you during life’s trials and wonders as well as he kept my family this season.”
View this post on Instagram
Stuard was a guest on the Sports Spectrum Podcast last December to share about football, overcoming obstacles in life, and his Heavenly Father who made it possible.
“Without Jesus, nothing matters,” he said. “I think that that speaks into my life in its entirety with my family, with my career. Just each and every morning when we wake up, without Jesus and without a relationship with God there’s no purpose.”
View this post on Instagram
Stuard also talked on the podcast about his budding music career, as he released a single, “Empty,” in September. Whether in football, fatherhood or music, he knows his purpose is to serve the Lord.
“I spent a good amount of time walking and living my life without Jesus and without a purpose,” he said on the podcast, “and so whenever I finally made a connection with Him and surrendered my life over to Him, life became life.”
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
RELATED STORIES:
– SS PODCAST: Colts LB Grant Stuard on his musical career, surrendering to Christ
– LB Grant Stuard, 2021 ‘Mr. Irrelevant,’ hoped in the Lord amid childhood adversity
– NFL draft prospect Grant Stuard helps fight sex trafficking at pro day
– Houston LB Grant Stuard thanks Jesus Christ as he opts to prep for NFL draft
– 2022 ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ Brock Purdy joins 49ers with Christ as his foundation
