AUSTIN, Texas — Kylen Granson first fell in love with football when he started going to Chicago Bears training camp near his home as a kid. He had a passion for the game early on and took it out on other kids.
“Since I could walk I was tackling people,” he said.
“We enrolled him in soccer when he was little and he would tackle kids,” said Heather Granson, Kylen Granson's mother. “We’d have to pull him off to the sidelines and coach him up and say you can’t tackle the kids, it’s not football. It didn’t matter, the whole season he just pummeled kids.”
Kylen Granson carried that love of football to a state known for the game when he moved to Texas. He started high school in the Frisco area outside of Dallas, but then moved to Marble Falls and again to Austin Westlake as his father took coaching jobs at different schools. At Westlake, he didn’t play much his first season.
“He’s frustrated, momma’s frustrated, our home on Friday nights, you know, not many happy Friday nights,” said David Granson, Kylen Granson's father.
Going into his senior season things were starting to happen for Kylen Granson's football career. He dedicated himself in the weight room. His father served as his trainer and helped him to pack on about 20 pounds. He also started getting interest from colleges.
“It’s shaping up to be dreams are coming true,” said David Granson.
When Westlake was just a few weeks from opening that season, everything changed for Kylen Granson. He broke his leg during a practice.
“I’m on the cart with him and he’s just beside himself,” said David Granson.
He initially was told he was going to miss the entire season.
“Basically I said forget that,” Kylen Granson said.
The break wasn’t as bad as he first thought and he was able to attack his rehab hard. Kylen Granson missed the first five games that season and then was able to return to action. He became a big part of Westlake’s run to the state title game that season and even scored the only offensive touchdown for the Chaps in that championship game they lost to North Shore in overtime. His play had earned him some attention and eventually earned him one chance to play in college.
“At the end of the day I got a scholarship to go to Rice which was my goal,” he said.
He made an immediate impact at Rice. Kylen Granson caught 33 passes as a freshman for 381 yards and two touchdowns. He was voted the top freshman on the team that season. His sophomore year was a little more difficult. Rice won just one game that season and head coach David Bailiff was fired. He had a close relationship with Bailiff and decided he wanted to transfer. He spent a semester back at home, taking classes at Austin Community College and looking for another opportunity. A connection from coach Bailiff led him to SMU.
“That was a very tough transition of leaving something you had and was stable and searching for a program that would fit you,” said Heather Granson.
SMU provided that fit. They transformed Kylen Granson into a tight end and his career took off. In two seasons playing for the Mustangs, he had 78 catches for over 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“It was SMU that changed him and made him who he is as a football player today,” said Heather Granson.
“His two-year window at SMU and things I’m seeing him do now are things I wasn’t sure were possible,” said David Granson.
“We kind of set a standard we were going to be great and really kind of put SMU back on the map,” said Kylen Granson.
It also put Kylen Granson on the map as a legit NFL prospect. The past few months he’s spent working out back at home with his dad and preparing for the draft. He was invited to the Senior Bowl and is projected as a mid-round pick in next week's NFL draft.
“I never knew we’d be sitting here right now getting ready for the NFL draft,” said David Granson. “This was a tough road and it was earned.”
“To hear his name called will be a moment we’ve lived for and dreamed for our whole lives,” said Heather Granson, holding back tears.
Kylen Granson is anxious as the process winds down and he waits to find out what his future in football holds.
“I’m just ready to get to the 29th. If anything, it’s a little bit of impatience. I’m just ready,” he said.
While he has a great future ahead in football, there are other things Kylen Granson is passionate about, one being reading. He tells the story that as a kid he loved video games so much that his mom had to make a deal with him: for every minute of video games he played he then had to read for a minute. That ratio quickly changed to where he was reading much more than doing anything else, to the point where some teachers would get on him for reading in class. That love for books led to Kylen Granson and his mother, who is a teacher, forming KG’s Kids. It's a charity that was set up to help bring books to children and promote reading at a young age. They have donated plenty of books to schools and Kylen Granson has done readings for kids in classrooms and virtually.
“Being able to supply those things to teachers and not only that, giving more varied stories from more backgrounds is very helpful for kids,” he said.
“He had an influence where he could influence others. I could encourage them to read but him saying that it’s great to be a reader made them more want to be,” said Heather Granson.
More information on this nonprofit can be found at kgskids.com.
