Grissom's dominance earns him honor
The News' high school male athlete of the year
By Vance Janak - The Hutchinson News -
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Geneo Grissom dreamt of being an NFL running back when he was a kid.
Grissom still has aspirations of playing at the highest level of football, but not at running back.
At 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, Grissom's size has made him a destructive defensive end.
"He is obviously a physical specimen," Hutchinson football coach Randy Dreiling said.
The NFL dream is still alive, but it will have to wait a few more years as the recent Hutchinson High graduate hopes to star at the University of Oklahoma first.
It was what Grissom did in his final year as a Salthawk - including becoming Dreiling's first signing at a BCS power in the Hutch High dynasty - that earned him the honor of The Hutchinson News' male high school athlete of the year.
Whether it was on the football field or basketball court, Grissom's athleticism was easy to see.
His jaw-dropping skills ranged from tracking down running backs and ball carriers to crushing quarterbacks on the gridiron in the fall. After helping Hutchinson win its sixth straight state championship, Grissom took his skills to the hardwood.
Grissom was a beast in the post in basketball. His combination of size and quickness made him unstoppable inside as he had several highlight reel dunks and oftentimes took complete command of the paint defensively.
"My senior year went perfectly," Grissom said. "We got another ring and I finished my career out right. We had a pretty good basketball season. We had a good run. I wouldn't change anything at all."
The anticipation of Grissom's senior year started in the summer after he verbally committed to the University of Kansas.
Grissom, who got his size from his father, hit his growth spurt in middle school.
"My seventh-grade year I was 6-1. By my eighth-grade year, I was 6-3," Grissom said. "My eighth-grade year, they moved me to tight end from running back. I didn't like that much."
Hutch High and KU fans liked what they saw out of Grissom last fall.
Grissom, a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com, had his best season as a senior. In earning AVCTL I co-defensive MVP honors, Grissom recorded 76 tackles, including 24 for loss and 7 1/2 sacks, while also deflecting eight passes.
"He had an outstanding year," Dreiling said. "He's a guy that developed every year. He will continue to do that and be an even better player at Oklahoma."
Gifted with physical tools, Dreiling said Grissom improved most with his physical dominance.
"He played the way he looked this year and he was pretty much unblockable," Dreiling said. "He and (fellow defensive end) Justin Goetz put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. Geneo really played to his physical presence."
In addition to helping the Salthawks win their state-record sixth state championship, Grissom, one of the team captains, was a part of the winningest senior class in Hutch High history that went 50-2 in their careers.
Then came the transition to basketball.
"Getting into basketball shape was the toughest," Grissom said. "The first week of practice after football, I was just dead."
During the early portions of the basketball season, Grissom also had a looming decision of where he wanted to continue his football career. Grissom reopened his recruitment in December after Kansas coach Mark Mangino resigned.
Then came a frenzy of schools vying for Grissom's services. The two that visited and called the most were Louisiana State and Oklahoma, in addition to Kansas.
Grissom picked Oklahoma on Jan. 20 to end a couple of months' worth of coaches constantly coming to the Salt City.
"I can't imagine having more than one guy get recruited like that because all I did was baby-sit D-I coaches," Dreiling said. "LSU and OU certainly did a wonderful job. It was a unique experience because sometimes you'd have a coach come in at 10 a.m. and then they wouldn't leave town until 7 that evening.
"It had to be taxing on Geneo and his family."
It didn't look that way, though; Grissom was still outstanding on the court. His best performance came 12 days before his OU commitment.
On Jan. 8, Grissom poured in 30 points in a 66-51 win over Salina Central.
"I can't say that during the game I knew that I was having the best game of my career," Grissom said. "It was a great feeling knowing that I played that big of a role in a win and had my career game."
Grissom played a big role all season, as he averaged 14.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots per game to lead the Salthawks (12-10).
"He was a kid who never played a lot of basketball outside of the basketball season," first-year coach Nathan Henry said. "What he was able to do for us was a testament to his athletic ability and his skill.
"He was able to dominate a lot of games. Considering the competition we played throughout the season, that's pretty impressive."
Grissom made an impressive 65 percent of his shots from the field and was the centerpiece of the Salthawks' offense.
"He certainly opened up opportunities for other players," Henry said. "Teams felt like if they could stop him they could stop us. We funneled the offense through him and he could make the difficult shots inside.
"He also had a great spirit. He was a kid who never really got too down or too high. I think that rubbed off on the guys."
After his Hutch High graduation, Grissom moved to Norman on June 5 - the day after his birthday.
"I absolutely love it down here," Grissom said. "The training is by far the hardest thing I've had to go though. It's a whole different ball game down here."
Grissom said he's in the running for a roster spot and said "there's a good shot I'll get some playing time."
That shot comes after spending four years learning from Dreiling, who Grissom said has helped make the transition to college easier.
"The intensity of practices and the workouts made it so we always had to work hard to get better," Grissom said. "Dreiling always pushed us to be better athletes and to get better as a team. It has helped out a lot here in Norman."
The Oklahoma coaching staff looks to make Grissom even bigger, faster and stronger. If they can do that, Grissom may be able to achieve his long-term goal.
"I see myself at the next level," Grissom said. "I'm going to do everything I can to do that."
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