Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Making the most of being a Hokie
Aaron McFarling
Recent columns
A little kid's dream. That's what it was. Grant Throckmorton walked through the toy section of Wal-Mart, the wad of cash in his pocket serving as a license to spree.
"I'll take one of these ... and one of these ..."
A few more action figures and Barbie dolls and toy cars dropped into the cart.
"And a whole bunch of these ..."
He put his hand on the back of a display and slid it forward, capturing an entire rack's worth of goodies.
There in those crowded aisles, Throckmorton, a scout-team quarterback and holder on the field-goal unit, was attempting to lead the Virginia Tech football team to its most lopsided win in years.
He was the perfect man for the job.
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A little kid's dream. That's what it was. All those years he rode up from Wytheville with his parents to watch the Hokies, Grant Throckmorton thought about what it'd be like to play quarterback at Lane Stadium.
On Nov. 17, the senior walk-on found out.
He entered the Miami game with 2:45 remaining in the fourth quarter. He handed the ball off five times to Dustin Pickle as the Hokies ran out the clock, then soaked up the noise of 66,000 fans celebrating a 44-14 Tech victory.
"I tell you, that was exciting," Throckmorton said last week. "If you'd told me as a little kid, 'You're going to get to play football at Virginia Tech and you're going to get to play in Lane Stadium, which team would you pick to play against?' my first answer would be 'The U,' for sure. I wanted to line up against Miami and play them."
The thing is, it was never supposed to happen.
Those 3 minutes belonged to Cory Holt, the third-string quarterback. He'd earned them in practice. From a practical standpoint, he needed them more than Throckmorton. But when the coaches approached Holt after Tech's final touchdown and told him to loosen up, Holt shook his head.
"Put Throck in," he said. "It's Senior Day."
Which tells you a little bit about Holt.
And a little bit about Throckmorton.
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A little kid's dream. That's what it is. A real, live Tech football player coming to visit? Really?
Grant Throckmorton has seen the look in so many eyes. Hospitals. Schools. Homes. He's been to dozens of them in his four years as a Hokie, and he'd go to a thousand more if asked.
Or even if he's not asked.
"Usually for the community service and charity stuff that we do, they find some of the bigger names to excite the kids," starting quarterback Sean Glennon said. "I'm lucky to be one of those. I go on a lot, but Throck's always there with us. He just likes helping out and giving back."
Throckmorton has spoken to crowds as large as 1,200 and as small as one. He's delivered autographed footballs to kids with terminal illnesses. He's helped hand out food on Thanksgiving. He helps lead Friday Bible studies at the team hotel, sessions that regularly draw 30 to 40 players.
Just last week, Throckmorton helped round up several dozen Hokies to visit Patrick Day, the Blacksburg High School football player who suffered a stroke in August that damaged his spinal cord.
"I've been so blessed to grow up in a good family and grow up financially well," Throckmorton said. "I've been taught to serve. I've been taught to give back to people.
"I'm not going to be on this pedestal much longer. In five years, people aren't going to know who I am. So while I'm here, I figure I'm going to go out there and help as much as I can and serve as much as I can. They might not know my name, but when they see me, they know I'm a Virginia Tech football player."
They do. And the more organizations found out about him, the more they requested him. Some e-mail him directly, and he goes whenever he can. The athletic department's office of student life, which filters charity requests, knows they always have a willing participant in Throckmorton.
"I've been around college athletics for years," said Danny White, an assistant coordinator for the department. "I've never met somebody that can gather other people like Grant. He's got a strength that I've just not seen.
"He could probably get 40 people to drink a gallon of milk. He could round up anybody to do anything."
And this holiday season, he did it again.
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Every year around this time, the Tech athletic department holds a contest to see which varsity team can give the most toys to the Montgomery County toy drive. Last year, the football team finished near the bottom.
"That didn't make sense to me, because we're the biggest athletic team here," Throckmorton said. "We should be able to provide more toys than we did."
But Throckmorton understands why it happens. With big games and exams looming, it's a hectic time for the team. Shopping isn't a top priority. The donation box in the locker room is easy to forget.
So this year, Throckmorton figured he'd make it easier on his teammates. About a month ago, he put a letter in each player's locker asking for small monetary donations.
The team responded.
"Guys just gave what they had in their pockets," Throckmorton said. "If they had $4, they'd give $4. If they had $6 they'd give $6. Some guys would come and say, 'Here's 20 bucks. These little kids need it more than I do.'
"A lot of guys think these big football players are mean and ferocious on the field. But when it comes down to it with kids, they have soft hearts and they love to give."
Within a week, Throckmorton had collected $300. He went to the coaches and asked if they could help. They matched the players' total, giving Throckmorton $600 to buy gifts.
And with White and kicker Jud Dunlevy by his side, he did. The shopping spree netted about 200 toys, overflowing the locker-room box.
"We pretty much indisputably blew out the rest of the teams," Throckmorton said with a chuckle.
"It was so bad that they said, 'OK, football, you guys win. But we're going to have another winner because it's not fair.'
"That's a good thing. Honestly, it shouldn't be fair. Every year, it should not be a contest."
This morning, all across the country, children are opening presents.
Some don't know where they came from, and surely they do not care.
It's Christmas Day. A little kid's dream. And once again, Throck did his part to help make it so.
