Kelvin Grady, fresh off his turn in a drill during this afternoon’s practice, looked over at an equipment manager and down at the ball in his hands. With exaggerated technique, he shot the football like a basketball, laughed and ran to the back of the slot receiver line.

The athlete who wore baggy maize-and-blue shorts for the Wolverines just five months ago has been one of the most surprising players in this year’s football fall camp — and Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez has been clear that the former basketball player may see the field at slot receiver this fall.

“Kelvin Grady has made a lot of big plays,” Rodriguez said this afternoon. “That’s been a – I don’t want to say a pleasant surprise, because we thought when he came over, he’d have a chance – but Kelvin has done well in camp.”

As a senior at East Grand Rapids High School, Grady finished with over 2,000 yards and 28 touchdowns en route to an All-State nod. He was a three-star football recruit out of high school and originally planned to play both football and basketball for the Wolverines. At the time, he said both former Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr and former Michigan basketball coach Tommy Amaker were supportive of his two-sport decision.

He decided to just play basketball, but after starting 25 of 32 games as a freshman, he saw his minutes drastically reduced as a sophomore. As the Wolverines reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years, Grady mainly watched from the bench. He started just eight games and announced his transfer less than two weeks after the season ended.

"It's been a wonderful experience both as a student and as a player here at the University of Michigan, but I feel I need a fresh start," said Grady through the Athletic Department when announcing his transfer from the basketball team on April 2.

His “fresh start” came two months later when he joined Rodriguez’s team. With the cross-sport switch, Grady has three years of college eligibility remaining. Though Grady struggled to fit into Michigan basketball coach John Beilein’s system as a freshman, he looked comfortable running routes in Rodriguez’s spread offense during today’s practice.
“Kelvin has bought in very, very quickly and he’s a very coachable guy,” Rodriguez said. “You can see the last couple years playing basketball for John have been beneficial. … He hasn’t been coached in this sport in college, but he’s adapted very quickly.”

Notes: Sophomore slot receiver Martavious Odoms wore a red jersey and did not practice with the team today. Rodriguez said Odoms had a “headache”, though not a concussion, and will be back in action tomorrow. Junior cornerback Donovan Warren wore a green jersey, signifying a minor injury, and worked on punt returns for the first part of practice.