< PreviousWhile many Auburn seniors are getting nostalgic about their final season on the Plains, quarterback Grant Loy’s senior campaign will be both an ending and a beginning as he joined the Auburn roster as a graduate transfer from Bowling Green. Because of COVID-19, Loy was delayed until summer in getting to meet his new teammates. He first entered the transfer portal in November, knowing he was scheduled to graduate from Bowling Green in December with a bachelor’s degree in education. “It was a tough transition,” he said. “The transfer portal is a tough place to be because there is so much unknown, especially for a guy like me who only has one season left.” So why Auburn for his final season? “I fell in love with the coaches right away, and I could just tell they were guys you wanted to be around every day,” Loy said. “After being here for about two months and being around the coaches and the guys, I definitely made the right decision. Regardless of whatever happens, I am happy to be here.” Loy was a multi-sport athlete who played football, basketball, and baseball in New Washington, Ohio. At Buckeye Central High School, Grant acquired two MVP trophies, was team captain and was selected to the North Central Ohio Football Coaches Associa- tion First Team after throwing for 1,884 yards and 17 touchdowns his senior year. But Loy was not just a star football player. He holds the Buckeye Central record with 80 stolen bases, while batting .370, and was named the District 6 player of the year on the diamond. He also could have played college basketball at the Division II level. “Sports were fun,” Loy said. “My dad was my high school basketball coach, so I kind of grew up in the gym with my little brother. A lot of guys don’t have that luxury, so I honestly thought I was going to be a basketball player in college. I actu- ally walked on at Bowling Green, got to run the scout team my first year at quarterback, and earned a scholarship. “I was good at basketball, but when you are in such a small town, it’s not often that someone gets a chance to play Divi- sion I. Some guys go play Division II or Division III, but it’s not often guys go Division I in sports. I knew the game of basket- ball, but comparing myself to other guys, I thought to myself, ‘All right, I could go Division II because these guys that play Division 1 are no joke. I am not guarding any of them on the perimeter.’” Football turned out to be a good choice, though it almost didn’t happen. It wasn’t until his senior year that Loy, with the help of his mother Shelli, started reaching out to recruiters about playing college football. “My mom helped me out a ton,” Loy said. “Just emailing coaches and seeing any way I can get in contact with anybody, making every phone call she possibly could to get more infor- mation. She is the reason I am standing here today.” After agreeing to walk on at Bowling Green, Loy redshirt- ed the 2016 season and then served as the backup for the Falcons in 2017 and 2018. Last fall, he won the starting job and seized the opportunity with 1,137 yards passing, 427 yards rushing and 10 total touchdowns. He earned MAC East Of- fensive Player of the Week honors following a 20-7 win over Toledo. “This past year was really my first year as a starter at Bowl- ing Green,” Loy said. “I had been subbed in here and there, but it was just really good to be out there. And in my first con- ference game, we pulled an upset that no one really expected us to (a win over rival Toledo).” A three-time academic All-MAC selection, Loy is now working toward a master’s degree in adult education with a minor in sports management from Auburn, but that wasn’t the only reason he transferred. He wants a shot at playing at the next level. “That has always been my dream,” he said. Down the road, Loy hopes he can stay in sports and wants to one day become a broadcaster. For now, though, he’s look- ing forward to the upcoming football season at Auburn. “I am just incredibly grateful to be a part of Auburn foot- ball,” he said. “The moment I stepped on campus, I knew it was a special place. I know the tradition here is amazing and the support we have as a program is endless. I couldn’t wait for the season to get here fast enough.” SENIOR SPO TL IGHT: GRANT L O Y 51 ‘INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL’ BY NELSON GARRIS A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: GRANT LOYTHROUGH THE LENS: VS. KENTUCK Y 53 THROUGH THE LENS: VS. KENTUCKY A UBURNTI G ERS.C O MTHE OFFICIAL HOME FOR AUBURN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS and SPORTSCALL TIGER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 2514 South College Street, Suite 104 • Auburn, AL 36830 334.887.9999 127443-19 TIger Communications_Auburn Football Illustrated Ad.indd 18/13/19 11:48 AMTHROUGH THE LENS: VS. KENTUCK Y 55 THROUGH THE LENS: VS. 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DA GALLERY NOW OPEN • 7 DAYS A WEEK 1409 S COLLEGE STREET, SUITE 102 • AUBURN 36832 334.521.5067 ) Auburn FB 20.indd 3Auburn FB 20.indd 38/18/20 12:16 PM8/18/20 12:16 PMHEISMAN TROPHY 57 HEISMAN TROPHY A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M Bo Jackson 1985 Winner Cam Newton 2010 Winner Pat Sullivan 1971 WinnerA UBURN AL L -AMERICANS 59 n In 1932, halfback Jimmy Hitchcock made Auburn history by becoming the first player to earn All-America honors. Eighty-seven years later, Derrick Brown continued the legacy of Auburn greats by becoming an unanimous All-American on eight separate lists. The first Tiger to earn unanimous recognition in three decades, Brown was placed on the Sporting News, ESPN, the Athletics, CBS, Associated Press, Walter Camp, Football Writers Association of America and AFCA FBS Coaches first teams. n Seventy-one Tiger Players have combined for 80 All-America Honors. End Jimmy Phillips is Auburn’s most celebrated All-American, making 11 teams in 1957. Pat Sullivan, Terry Beasley, Bo Jackson and Tracy Rocker were each named to 10 teams in a single season. n Auburn has had 22 seasons with multiple All-Americans and nine season with three or more. AUBURN ALL-AMERICANS A UBURNTI G ERS.C O M AUBURN ALL-AMERICA LIST Year ........Player ........................................ Pos. 1932 ..........Jimmy Hitchcok ..............................HB 1937 ..........Walter Gilbert ..................................... C 1942 ..........Ray "Monk Gafford ........................HB 1944..........Caleb "Tex" Warrington .................. C 1949 ..........Travis Tidwell ....................................QB 1954 .........Jim Pyburn ............................................E 1955 .........Frank D'Agostino ................................ T ....................Joe Childress .....................................FB ....................Fob James .........................................HB 1957 ..........Jimmy Phillips ......................................E 1958 .........Zeke Smith............................................G ....................Jackie Burkett ..................................... C 1959 .........Zeke Smith............................................G ....................Ken Rice.................................................. T 1960 .........Ken Rice.................................................. T ....................Ed Dyas ................................................FB 1963 ..........Jimmy Sidle .......................................QB 1964 ..........Tucker Frederickson ......................FB 1965 .........Jack Thornton ...................................... T ....................Bill Cody ..............................................LB 1967 ..........Freddie Hyatt .......................................E 1968 ..........Dave Campbell .................................... T 1969 ..........Buddy McClinton ............................... S 1970 ..........Larry Willingham ............................DB ....................Terry Beasley .................................E/FL ....................Pat Sullivan ........................................QB 1971 ...........Pat Sullivan ........................................QB ....................Terry Beasley ....................................WR 1974 ..........Ken Bernich .......................................LB ....................Mike Fuller ............................................. S 1976 ..........Neil O'Donoghue ............................PK 1981 ...........Keith Uecker ..................................... OT 1982 ..........Bob Harris ..........................................DB 1983 ..........Bo Jackson ........................................ RB ....................Donnie Humphrey ..........................DT 1984 .........Gregg Carr .........................................LB 1985 .........Bo Jackson ........................................ RB ....................Lewis Colbert .......................................P ....................Ben Tamburello .................................. C 1986 .........Brent Fullwood .................................TB ....................Ben Tamburello .................................. C 1987 ..........Aundray Bruce..............................OLB ....................Tracy Rocker ......................................DT ....................Stacy Searels ..................................... OT ....................Kurt Crain ............................................LB 1988 .........Tracy Rocker ......................................DT ....................Walter Reeves ................................... TE ....................Benji Roland .................................... NG 1989 ..........Ed King ...............................................OG ....................Craig Ogletree ..................................LB 1990 .........Ed King ...............................................OG ....................David Rocker .....................................DL 1993 ..........Terry Daniel ...........................................P ....................Wayne Gandy .................................. OT 1994 ..........Brian Robinson ................................DB ....................Frank Sanders .................................WR ....................Chris Shelling ...................................DB 1997 ..........Victor Riley ........................................ OT ....................Takeo Spikes ......................................LB 2001 .........Damon Duval .......................................K 2003 ........Karlos Dansby ...................................LB 2004 ........Marcus McNeill ............................... OT ....................Carlos Rogers ...................................DB ....................Junior Rosegreen ...........................DB ....................Carnell Williams .............................. RB 2005 ........Marcus McNeill ............................... OT 2006 ........Ben Grubbs ......................................OG 2010 .........Nick Failey ..........................................DT ....................Cam Newton ....................................QB ....................Lee Ziemba ....................................... OT 2011 ..........Steven Clark ..........................................P 2013 .........Chris Davis .........................................CB ....................Tre Mason .......................................... RB 2014 .........Reese Dismukes ................................ C 2016 .........Carl Lawson ...................................... DE 2017 ..........Daniel Carlson .....................................K ....................Carlton Davis ....................................DB ....................Jeff Holland ....................................OLB ....................Braden Smith ................................... OL 2020 ........Derrick Brown ...................................DT Carnell Williams Karlos Dansby Stacy SearelsNext >