In February of last year, with little fanfare, Ole Miss wide receiver and return specialist Jesse Grandy left the Rebel football program. His reason for leaving was the dubiously common and vague "family illness," and it was announced that the would move closer to his home in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
A-year-and-a-half later, and Jesse Grandy is a second team all-Southland wide receiver for the University of Central Arkansas Bears (which, again, are purple and not black, nor are they glad with golf attire, so they're terrible), and just a few days from returning to Ole Miss to compete against the team with which he signed his letter of intent.
How's Jesse doin' out yonder, you may ask?
Pretty well, actually. Last season, Grandy played in all 13 of UCA's games, starting four at wideout. He led team in receptions with 49, which was good for 788 yards and nine touchdowns. He also returned kicks and punts for UCA, and performed so-so-ish in that regard. His biggest game of last season saw him score two touchdowns on seven receptions, earning a total of 148 receiving yards.
I think it is safe to say that Jesse Grandy is one of Central Arkansas' most potent offensive weapons. What that means for us I do not know. I do think we have the defensive backs capable of catching or, at least, containing Grandy. He also did not show much of anything while at Ole Miss that would have earned him a significant offensive role, outside situational plays. In 2010, Grandy's last year at Ole Miss, the then-sophomore had 224 yards on 20 receptions with just one touchdown at receiver, along with just 88 yards rushing on 12 attempts.
So whether it was a "family illness" or simply his not being good enough to significantly contribute at receiver for the worst team in the Southeastern Conference, Jesse Grandy's departure from Ole Miss was not a particularly remarkable one. Still, his performance so far at UCA has shown us that he, at the very least, capable. I doubt he has some hokey notion of revenge on his mind (What if he did though? What if Jesse Grandy had some bizarre bloodlust for Ole Miss? Wouldn't that be weird?), but he certainly will play hard and perhaps aim to silence his doubters (see: all of us).