"I didn't know where I was going to end up, but I knew I wanted to play Division I football somewhere," Granger said. "[Addazio] contacted me, through my old high school coach [Ron Cohen]. He saw my tapes, thought I'd be the right guy to run his system. For a hometown guy, it seemed like a perfect situation."
He made his visit this past weekend.
"It took me a long time, and it took me all over the place, but you don't mind doing the things you have to do to get where you want to go," he said. "In the end, it's worked out for the best. But there were a lot of times when I wondered if it really would."
After not playing for 2 years, he split time last season at Pierce with Exavier Johnson, who originally had gone to Utah State. Despite missing three games, Granger threw for 1,300 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also received offers from Florida International, North Texas and several Football Championship Subdivision programs, while Minnesota had shown interest.
"I liked everything about coming home," said Granger, who lives in South Philly. "I think [Addazio's] a players' coach, a good guy to play for. I think he came from a good background [offensive coordinator at Florida]. He knows what he wants, and what he can get out of his players. I think he'll be good for Temple. I'm looking forward to being part of a team that's winning [Mid-American Conference] championships and going to bowl games.
"My family couldn't be happier. For me, the decision was easy."
Addazio isn't allowed to comment until today. The Owls have had their issues at quarterback lately, although redshirt sophomore Mike Gerardi did some good things when he took over for junior Chester Stewart in the seventh game. Still, the Owls lost their last two to finish 8-4. Redshirt freshman Chris Coyer is also in the mix.
