Former UC Davis football standout Bakari Grant has found a home in the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Grant, who played at UC Davis from 2005-09, is a crucial part of the Tiger-Cats’ offense. He is currently the leading receiver on the team with a career-high 947 yards receiving on the year. Grant has also scored two touchdowns this season.
Grant’s production has helped the Hamilton Tiger-Cats reach the Grey Cup — the CFL’s equivalent of the NFL’s Super Bowl. The Tiger-Cats have gone 10-8 this season, second in their division, in part to Grant’s outstanding performance. With two consecutive wins in the playoffs against the Montreal Alouettes and the Toronto Argonauts respectively, the Tiger-Cats head to Regina, Saskatchewan to face off with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Nov. 24.
Grant has finally found a home in the CFL after quite a journey. Grant redshirted his freshman year at UC Davis and had a limited role in his second year for the Aggies. However, after having three fantastic seasons at UC Davis, where he was a three time All-Great West Conference team member and compiled a total of 1,925 yards receiving and 18 touchdowns, Grant decided to move on to professional football.
He tried out for the San Francisco 49ers and was signed to a two-year contract in May of 2010. Unfortunately, Grant was waived by the 49ers in August of that same year. He then was signed by the San Jose Sabercats of the Arena Football League in September 2010 before being quickly signed once again to the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad in December 2010.
Grant was not given the opportunity to play in the NFL and was eventually waived again by the 49ers early in 2011. He was then picked up by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in May of 2011 and has played for them ever since.
In his three seasons with the Tiger-Cats, Grant has caught 149 passes for 1,930 yards and nine touchdowns. He will need to continue his productive play as the Tiger-Cats head into the Grey Cup. The game will be televised on the NBC Sports Network on Nov. 24 at 3 p.m.
