From O-line to QB, Cheney’s Micah Grover has big expectations

When you’re a football coach at a Class 3A school like Cheney, you scour the hallways during passing periods looking for big guys to play on the offensive line.

You usually don’t find many.

So when Cheney’s Cory Brack decided to move 6-foot-1, 230-pound sophomore Micah Grover off the offensive line last season, he did so with reservation.

“Micah started for us at right tackle on the offensive line Day 1 as a freshman,” Brack said. “At our level, it’s so hard to find offensive linemen and especially the really, really good ones. It was a tough decision to move him.”

But Cheney needed a quarterback after losing two QBs to injuries. The backup was hurt during Cheney’s first junior varsity game and the starter, Austin Wheelock, went down in the sixth game of the 2015 season, just before the start of district play.

Grover, an outstanding athlete whose best and favorite sport is baseball, had previous quarterbacking experience. It wasn’t until his freshman year, in fact, that he started playing on the offensive line.

“I was excited about playing quarterback again,” said Grover, who helped Cheney to a 7-3 record and playoff appearance in 2015. “It’s pretty fun knowing you’re going to be able to change the aspect of a game in a different way.”

Grover has trimmed to around 220 pounds, he said, and he’s not only a load to bring down but possesses a strong arm.

“He’s one of the most intelligent football players I’ve coached,” said Brack, in his fifth season with the Cardinals. “That’s really one of the biggest things that made this such an easy transition for him. He’s just grown up in a sports house.”

Grover’s dad, David, is a former basketball coach who is now superintendent of schools in Cheney.

“Micah has been around sports so much, and the game of football, that when we sit down for film and just talk he already knows so much about what’s going on around him,” Brack said. “He is really football smart.”

Grover is part of what Brack hopes will be a strong and young group of offensive weapons.

Junior Trent Scheer is slotted to play in the slot, where Brack says “he catches everything.”

Another junior, Hunter Adolph, will be a big part of Cheney’s spread offense as will a couple of 6-foot-4 sophomores, Brenden Dewey and Trey Patterson.

“This year is really doing to depend on how we do up front,” Brack said, “and how we protect and do things on the offensive and defensive lines. If we’re good there, we could have a pretty good season.”

Interesting that one of Cheney’s areas of concern, the offensive line, could be bolstered by Grover returning there. But he’s needed too much at quarterback to go back now. His replacement at right tackle, senior Griffin Hedrick, has been a mainstay, Brack said.

Cheney has a little quarterback mojo now thanks to the success last season of former Cardinal Joe Hubener at Kansas State. He came out of nowhere to be the starter for the Wildcats and could be in the mix this season as K-State coach Bill Snyder shakes out the quarterback situation during preseason workouts.

“There are some similarities between the two guys,” Brack said. “Micah isn’t as tall or as long as Joe, but I think the arm strength is about the same. I think he compares pretty well to what Joe was as a quarterback when he was in high school.”

Grover’s biggest strength as a football player, though, is his savvy.

“Like I’ve said, he’s the smartest guy on the field, like a coach on the field,” Brack said. “He can make any throw that a freshman in college can make. He can make the throw from the right hash to the left sideline and that’s part of what makes him really good. He puts our offensive in a really good position most of the time.”

Grover grew up in Ottawa and Iola before the family moved to Cheney four years ago. He plays first base and pitches for the Cardinals’ baseball team but is regarded more for his hitting during the summers with Wichita’s 316 Elite program.

“Baseball is definitely the sport I’m most passionate about,” Grover said. “And it’s probably my best sport. I play basketball, too, but I’m just a role guy off the bench.”

Brack is looking for more from Grover than just a strong arm. He wants to see more maturity, more leadership.

“There’s definitely room for growth,” Brack said. “Because it comes so easy for Micah at times, he doesn’t always maybe take things as seriously as he should. Now he has to become a better leader for our football team. Sometimes it’s hard for an underclassman to assume that role. We had some good leaders the past couple of years so it was easier for him to sit back. Now we need him to step into that role.”

This story was originally published August 18, 2016 at 10:50 AM with the headline "From O-line to QB, Cheney’s Micah Grover has big expectations."