The Indianapolis Colts held the Miami Dolphins scoreless for the entire second half Sunday on their way to a 16-10 victory in Indianapolis. It’s the fewest points the Colts have allowed in a game this season, and the win moved them above .500 (4-3), only one game behind the Houston Texans in the AFC South.
A big reason for Indianapolis’ defensive success was the performance of Grant Stuard, a fourth-year linebacker out of the University of Houston. Making the first start of his NFL career due to injuries to linebackers E.J. Speed and Jaylon Carlies, Stuard made the most of it.
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He recorded a whopping 19 tackles (11 solo), the most of any player in a single NFL game so far this season. The special teams ace’s previous career-high in tackles was two, and he had yet to make a tackle this season.
Grant Stuard had 18 total tackles over the last two seasons combined.
He had 18 on Sunday.
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 21, 2024
Stuard’s teammates fed off the energy, effort and enthusiasm he brought to the field on Sunday.
“Grant was out there setting the tone,” said linebacker Zaire Franklin, whose 76 tackles on the season lead the NFL. “Iron man game today.”
Stuard’s energy was so infectious that even he was a beneficiary.
“I always kind of figure out that if I’m flying around, making plays, exerting energy, it gives me more energy,” Stuard said after the game, according to Colts.com. “Just pedal to the metal every play is how I do it.”
Known at first for his wild, frizzy hair and for being dubbed “Mr. Irrelevant” as the last pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Stuard is now developing a reputation around the NFL for his energetic playing style. And for those who know Stuard and know where he draws his strength, that’s no accident.
“In the Old Testament, Ecclesiastes 9:10, it says everything your hand does, to do it with your full might, like everything that you put your hand to, give everything you have to it because there’s no work or toil in the grave, where everybody’s headed,” Stuard said after Sunday’s game. “So I just try to embrace that and just give my best, 100%, (and) get 1% better every day.”
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The 26-year-old, who just celebrated his birthday last week, wears eye black in the shape of a cross during games, and he has spoken consistently about how his faith in Christ helped him to overcome tremendous obstacles in life to get to where he is today. Stuard made an appearance on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in December to share about football, overcoming obstacles, his budding music career, and his Heavenly Father who made it all possible.
“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.”
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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. His mother, Laurel, was a drug addict who overdosed on multiple occasions and was a sex worker from before Grant was even born.
Grant slept on seemingly every couch in the Houston area during his middle 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 such a desolate home life, but the burden wore on him. His performance in the classroom and on the field slipped. His deceit began to lead to broken relationships. Eventually, sadness turned to despair, which turned to 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 peered 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 100 yards away. Grant’s thoughts drifted to JoJo and Samaria. He turned around and sped away.
About six months later, as Stuard sat in his cousin’s church service, his ears perked up as 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 around him, and chase an NFL dream that grew more attainable by the day.
“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 posts regularly about his faith in Christ on Instagram, and he’s been active in raising money to fight sex trafficking, hunger and poverty in the Houston area.
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“Without Jesus, nothing matters,” Stuard said on the podcast. “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.”
Stuard — who was worried about simply making the Colts’ roster two months ago — knows that whether he’s called upon to make 19 tackles, to excel on special teams, or to do nothing in football at all, his life is hidden with Christ in God.
The Colts head to Stuard’s hometown of Houston on Sunday to take on the Texans at 1 p.m. ET. With a Colts victory, the teams would be tied atop the AFC South.
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