Oswego East’s Nigel Grisby never played before high school – now the Indiana State commit is a lockdown corner

OSWEGO – Nigel Grisby had a less than ideal introduction to football that only fueled his fire.

Oswego East’s senior cornerback never played before high school. His first year, he was part of a freshman team that went 1-7-1.

“I played basketball before that, and I was used to winning,” Grisby said. “Having a record like that, my goal was to get 1% better every day.”

That day-by-day added up to a heck of a player.

Grisby is a stellar cover corner, good enough to earn a scholarship to Indiana State. Together with senior Andy Pohlman, they’re senior pillars intent on bringing Oswego East back to its customary winning ways after a 3-6 2023 season. It was the first time the Wolves missed the playoffs since 2014.

“We were not happy about it,” Pohlman said. “This is the first year we’ve done 7-on-7s with the team at the end of the spring. It’s good to get the fundamentals down so we don’t have to waste time this summer.”

Grisby perhaps got a late start to playing football, but he’s no stranger to the game.

His cousin, Michael Joseph, went to Oswego High School, where he played sparingly. But Joseph went on to become a Division III All-American at the University of Dubuque and signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2018.

“I would say he’s kind of like my trainer, my mentor. Not only playing corner on the field, but the mind games, the interactions off the field,” Grisby said. “He’s like my brother.”

Grisby has taken his own circuitous route.

While his dad and cousin played, and Grisby always wanted to play football, his mom wouldn’t let him. She finally relented before high school.

“She was like, ‘I guess you’re big enough,’ ” Grisby said. “After that, some people felt like I was playing my entire life.”

Indeed, Grisby has become a player that Oswego East coach Tyson LeBlanc trusts as a lockdown corner on an island.

“Nigel, he is a cover corner, he is physical enough to come up and make tackles, he was a state qualifier in track so the kid can run,” LeBlanc said. “He’s just shy of 6-foot tall so he has good size. All and all, he’s just a really good kid.”

Pohlman doesn’t hesitate to consider Grisby the best cornerback in the conference, if not beyond.

“I just know how hard he works, I see how hard he works and how hard he’ll improve,” Pohlman said. “His best is yet to come.”

Grisby loves the challenge that the position presents.

“I feel like you have to carry yourself with a certain type of swagger,” Grisby said. “Just to play cornerback, knowing that as long as you are better than the receiver you are guarding, you are doing your job.”

Pohlman’s job is to play Oswego East’s “star” safety position, which he relishes.

“It’s great,” he said. “I’m in a nickel spot, middle of the field, playing the passing game. Run game I’ll come up and fill, quarterback drops back to pass, I’m filling the middle third.”

He also will play some offense for the Wolves.

“Andy is just a super tough kid,” LeBlanc said. “He visited Eastern Illinois and he’s a tall, gangly, red-headed kid. A lot of time you look at those guys and you don’t think they’re good athletes. He is definitely a good athlete. A former player of mine coaches at Eastern ... and he said, ‘What does [Pohlman] look like?’ I said, ‘He is going to look like a guy that doesn’t belong. But trust me, he absolutely belongs.’ ”

Offensively, Oswego East has big shoes to fill up front, virtually its entire offensive line with two Division I recruits graduated.

But quarterback Niko Villacci is back for his second season after starting as a sophomore.

“The biggest growth with Niko is just in the leadership,” LeBlanc said. “It’s tough being a sophomore on the varsity team at a position that requires you to be a leader. He’s a lot more comfortable with the guys. He’s got an understanding of the game. He has a lot of playground in him and that’s a good thing. But when there is too much playground and not going through your reads, it can cause issues and that was one thing we struggled with last year.

“He’s really dove into the playbook to understand what we want from him and what he can do.”