Former Clemson standout defensive tackle Grady Jarrett was selected in the fifth round (No. 137 overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday.
But on Friday night, half of his family’s house burned down, according to Ross Jones of FOX Sports.
#Falcons DT Grady Jarrett's family home went up in flames as he waited to be drafted last night. Scary stuff. Story to come on @FOXSports.
— Ross Jones (@RossJonesFOX) May 2, 2015
Nearly 50 family members were in attendance. Cause of fire is being investigated. They believe it was an electrical fire.
— Ross Jones (@RossJonesFOX) May 2, 2015
According to reports, someone discovered smoke in one of the bonus rooms in the house above the garage. They immediately called 911 and responders arrived within 10 minutes, but by then half of the house was already engulfed in flames. Thankfully and most importantly, nobody was hurt, but all of Jarrett’s memorabilia were lost in the fire.
However, he’ll be able to reminisce on his immense collegiate success and grow and learn as a promising NFL player with some of his college teammates, including Malliciah Goodman and standout edge rusher Vic Beasley, who was selected by the Falcons with the No. 8 overall pick on Thursday night, just as we predicted.
According to Tigernet.com, Grady’s father Tessie Tuggle actually announced his son’s selection at the team event. Tuggle, of course, had a very successful NFL career in Atlanta, getting named to five Pro Bowls and being inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor after 14 seasons.
ESPN analyst Tom Luginbill had the following to say about Jarrett earlier in the week. “Clemson led the country last season in yards-per-play allowed (4.03), and a big reason why was Jarrett clogging up the middle and disrupting everything opposing offenses tried to do,” Luginbill said. “His coaches at Clemson raved about his energy, toughness and fierce competitiveness. Sure, he’s barely 6 foot tall and has short arms for a defensive lineman, which will cause him to drop on some teams’ boards. But his quickness and ability to play both the run and pass will more than make up for the fact that he doesn’t have ideal size. His coach at Clemson, Dabo Swinney, once said that Jarrett was “completely committed” to being a great football player, and that’s what he’ll be in the NFL, following in the footsteps of his father, former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Jessie Tuggle, and surrogate uncle, future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis.”
“I’m so thankful for the opportunity,” Jarrett said during the team’s post-selection conference call. “He was so proud of me. He’s always been close to me and my family. I call him my uncle,” Jarrett said of Lewis.
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