Former Chiefs linebacker Boomer Grigsby elected to CFB Hall of Fame

The College Football Hall of Fame in conjunction with the National Football Foundation (NFF) announced their 2022 class on Monday with 22 new entrants ready for induction next December. The list includes former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Boomer Grigsby.

Grigsby should be a familiar name to Chiefs fans who have been around longer than the Andy Reid era (and who watched Hard Knocks back in 2007 when the Chiefs were featured). Grigsby was a two-way player as a linebacker and even fullback with the Chiefs from 2005 to 2007 after the team selected him in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. (This was the same class in which the Chiefs landed linebacker Derrick Johnson and punter Dustin Colquitt.)

Grigsby was a core special teams player in Kansas City who earned playing time in all 16 games as a rookie and went on to play in 44 total games over the course of three seasons.

Boomer Grigsby is among the 22 newest entrants in the College Football Hall of Fame.

It’s notable that the Chiefs got their draft pick that turned into Grigsby in the trade that brought over cornerback Patrick Surtain for a second round pick. The Dolphins used that on lineman Matt Roth.

Grigsby didn’t make the greatest professional tackler, but at the collegiate level, he was an absolute beast. Playing at the Division I-AA level (FCS), he was a three-time All-American at that level for each of his final three seasons at Illinois State where he set the record for most career tackles—an eye-popping 550. That mark still stands as the FCS career record. He also had 41.5 tackles for a loss in his career to go with 5 forced fumbles and 13 sacks.

Grigsby also played a season with the Miami Dolphins in 2008 and tried to get on with the Houston Texans in 2009 but was waived with an injury settlement.