Mizzou's Gregory: small-town America, NFL hopeful
Published: 2/26/2010 12:07 AM
Last Modified: 2/26/2010 12:07 AM
INDIANAPOLIS — As Day Two of the NFL Scouting Combine descends on the Circle City, it seems like a good time to reflect on my favorite part of Day One.
My colleague at the Oklahoman, Berry Tramel, says Texas Tech offensive lineman Brandon Carter was the most interesting person in the interview room Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
That's because Tramel didn't get to spend a few minutes with another Big 12 offensive lineman — Missouri's Kurtis Gregory.
Carter's gameday face paint and Mohawk haircut and colorful tattoos certainly give off the impression that he's a captivating personality. So does his mile-a-minute mouth. But Carter said he's growing up for the NFL — or at least he is for the combine — and is shortening his sentences and lengthening his hair.
Gregory, on the other hand, has been grown up for a long time.
Sitting at a round table in the stadium's East Club with a small group of reporters, Gregory sported a thick, red beard as he spoke glowingly of growing up on a farm in rural Missouri.
There are more media covering the combine (over 300) than there are citizens who live in his hometown of Blackburn (253), near Alma.
There were twice as many writers interviewing OSU's Russell Okung or OU's Trent Williams (about 50) as there were seniors in his graduating class at Santa Fe High School (26).
He was a sprinter on the track team. In football, he never came off the field, even on kickoffs, when he was the first gunner downfield.
"Probably my favorite thing I did in high school football was kickoff coverage," he said, "because I got to run as fast as I could and destroy people. . . . Our right guard was actually the kicker."
Farming's a tough business in west-central Missouri. Gregory's family used to sharecrop corn, soybeans and wheat on their section of his grandfather's 1,100-acre spread, but now raises hogs and cattle. ("We were losing money hand over fist," he said.) But it's not so tough that Santa Fe couldn't afford to open a new gymnasium recently. Good timing, too. Santa Fe retired Gregory's No. 72 jersey at halftime of a basketball game last Friday.
"Check out the Marshall Democrat News online," he said.
What Peyton Manning is to Indianapolis, Gregory is to Blackburn.
If Gregory makes an NFL team, he said not to worry, that he'd adjust to living in a big city just fine. He's already spent five years in big ol' Columbia, after all.
So what did Gregory do those five years at Mizzou? Well, the first three, he got himself a degree in agricultural management. That's right, three. The last two? He picked up a Master's degree in agricultural sciences. That's right, a Master's.
He also was vice president and treasurer of the MU Student Athlete Advisory Council. And last year, he was one of 10 national finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
"I got it all paid for, too," he said.
— John E. Hoover
Written by
John E. Hoover
Sports Columnist
