Jalen Grant Brings Experience, Edge, and Energy to NC State’s Offensive Line
For Jalen Grant, the path to NC State’s offensive line has been anything but ordinary. The veteran lineman has played a lot of football in different places, from high school championships in Alabama to stops at Bowling Green and Purdue, before finding a home in Raleigh. Now, with the Wolfpack, he’s eager to channel all of that experience into helping NC State take the next step forward.
One of the first things he had to adjust to wasn’t the playbook but the climate. “It’s a little hot down here,” Grant said with a laugh. “It’s very humid, easy to sweat. You’ve got to be very hydrated. It’s very important to hydrate the night before. The Midwest is pretty chill at practice—dry heat. Here, it can be like 82 degrees and you sweat just walking from the building to the field.”
Heat aside, Grant has quickly found himself right in the middle of the action, going up daily against some of NC State’s toughest defensive linemen, including Brandon Cleveland. “It was great working against him,” Grant said. “We always talk about stuff we can get better at. He’s got a couple of different moves, very strong, very stout in the run game. It makes you better every day.”
That growth-minded approach is part of what attracted Grant to NC State in the first place. After experiencing multiple programs, he said the Wolfpack’s culture stood out right away. “Man, it’s a family environment here,” he explained. “When I visited, I got to talk to all the coaches, and it just felt like home. It was an easy decision for me to come in.”
The culture is reinforced by leadership within the locker room. Grant pointed to sophomore quarterback C.J. Bailey, who was recently voted a captain, as a natural leader. “He’s a very charismatic guy. He’s a cool guy to be around. Everybody loves him,” Grant said. “When he talks, you listen because he’s giving you some game. He’s a young guy, but he has a way about him. I definitely believe in C.J. I trust him.”
On the offensive line, veteran Anthony Carter has also set the tone. “When I first got here, I was trying to find my way and see what the standard is,” Grant said. “One guy that I found set the standard was A.C. He’s been here his whole college career. He hasn’t transferred or anything. He’s put blood in the bricks here. Just the way he carries himself is the way it should be.”
Grant knows firsthand how important those standards are. At Montgomery Catholic in Alabama, he played on dominant teams that made deep postseason runs. “My senior year, I didn’t lose a game—we won the state championship,” he recalled. “My junior year, we lost the state semifinal, a heartbreaker. Sophomore year, same thing. I remember those games like yesterday. You don’t carry it with you, but you definitely remember it.”
That competitive edge has never gone away. After contributing at Bowling Green and Purdue, Grant arrives at NC State hungry to win. “I’m a warrior... I’m ready to go out there and play with my brothers,” he said. “At the end of the day, I just want to win, so that’s the main goal.”
Part of the excitement comes from knowing what it will feel like to finally run out at Carter-Finley Stadium in front of a packed crowd. “That’s like when you go out there, you’re the man in the arena and everybody’s here to watch you,” Grant said. “You’ve got to have that energy and that confidence you get from the fans in Carter-Finley when Coach says it’s go time.”
Grant hasn’t lost sight of the bigger picture, though. He knows NC State’s offensive line has both veterans and younger players still learning the ropes. Watching younger linemen like Spike Sowells push themselves has reminded him of the value of growth.
“He’s always asking questions, always trying to learn,” Grant said. “It’s great having a young guy who’s hungry to get better each and every day.”
With his background of winning, his experience across multiple conferences, and his immediate embrace of the Wolfpack’s culture, Grant looks like someone who will not only steady the offensive line but also help raise its standard.
As he put it simply, “I just want to win.”
