2025 NFL Draft interview: William & Mary OT Charles Grant

WCG’s lead draft analyst speaks with one of the top FCS players in the 2025 NFL Draft.

As a two-time first-team FCS All-American, William & Mary offensive tackle Charles Grant is as accomplished as they come heading into the 2025 NFL Draft.

Grant started off as a 240-pound recruit in high school and turned into one of the best football players at the FCS level. He started for three seasons for the Tribe, and after a tremendous collegiate career, he projects as one of the top small-school prospects in the upcoming draft class.

Windy City Gridiron spoke to Grant about his Senior Bowl invitation, his athleticism and how it translates to the offensive tackle position, and more.

JI: You were the first player invited to the 2025 Senior Bowl. What did that means to not only get that invite as an FCS guy, but also to be the first invite of the entire class?

CG: It meant a lot. It was really a special moment. I had my parents out there with me, they surprised me there, and then like seeing the team come together to support me and celebrate me, as well, it really meant a lot. I always say this: no matter what school you’re coming from, if you can play, you can play, and they’ll find you.

JI: You didn’t get to play in the Senior Bowl due to an injury near the end of the year. How’s recovery going?

CG: It’s going good. I’m basically pretty much almost 100%. I’ll definitely get to the Combine, and I’m looking forward to showing off my athletic ability at the Combine.

JI: You’ve got that high school wrestling background, which I love. How does that help you along the offensive line?

CG: I’d say it told me what hard work was. Going into college, I used to compare my wrestling workouts to what I was doing at school, and I was like, “alright, I used to be able to do all these wrestling workouts for three plus hours. If I can get through this, I can pretty much get through any of these workouts.” It’s just the mentality that I can persevere and strive during some hard workouts and hard times. It [also] just gave me good body leverage. When playing football, I’m pretty much always able to stay upright in terms of, even if someone tries to pull me down. I can keep my balance and keep my feet under me, and I’m able to recover.

It also taught me good natural body strength. There’s a couple of times I know guys that might lift more than me, we’re going against each other, and they’re like, “oh, dang bro, you’re strong.” I’m getting strong in the weight room, for sure, but even when I didn’t have that natural weight room strength, I had that natural body strength. I could make up for it. Then, I guess that’s where I got my athleticism from, as well. I was always moving around in those times I was wrestling, so I stuck with that, and then the fact that I could gain weight smoothly and slowly, as well as always staying active, it helped out with the weight gain. It was gaining weight while keeping my athleticism.

JI: You didn’t start playing football until your junior year of high school. When did it kick in that this was something you could do at the professional level?

CG: Going into college, I had the mindset of…I was going to William & Mary. I know it was a great educational school, yeah? Whether football or not football, I was going to have a successful career path. I was mostly planning on getting my degree and started working somewhere, but I say around my sophomore year on the field in 2022, that’s when it really started clicking. Like, “I can actually excel at this and maybe excel at the next level.” I think I had gotten sophomore All-American, and I was kind of surprised about that, because personally, I didn’t really think that my game was that great to be getting sophomore All-American. But people were saying otherwise. I had some guys reach out to me saying they’ve been watching my tape, and I was like, “Oh, I’m starting to get noticed from guys that are already outside of college football. Actually, I think I’m able to do this and play at the next level, too.”

JI: You wouldn’t be the only William & Mary guy in the NFL. Your old teammate, Colby Sorsdal, got drafted a couple years back by the Lions, too.

CG: Colby was one of the guys I looked up to, personally. He and Nate Lynn, they both paved the way for us. We’ve had guys in the past in the NFL, but it had been a little while since someone really got drafted. Colby paved the way for me, as well as the other kids at our school, to be like, “oh, yeah, you can actually make it from this level of football to the next level.”

JI: How’s the pre-draft process been treating you?

CG: I’d say it’s going good. I’m training at Exos in Phoenix, Arizona right now. I’ve been here for a couple weeks, I think. I initially came out here in early December right after the season ended and then went home for Christmas and came back out. I’d say the process has been good. I’ve been getting rehab on the knee, so I think you have great physical therapists here. That’s one of the reasons I’m pretty much already healthy again. These guys have been taking care of me.

The big emphasis that I was focused on was building strength and learning more about the game, the board work and stuff. That was a big emphasis I wanted to do. Being a little new to the game, I didn’t [initially] have a high football IQ, but I definitely think there’s strides [towards] where I can get my IQ, as well. Being able to talk to some of the guys that I worked with — [former NFL center] A.Q. Shipley — a guy that has already been there and done that and excelled at the level I’m trying to get to has been great. Picking his brain, him teaching me, and then just seeing I’m actually learning this stuff, and me knowing that I’m actually learning stuff [has been great].

JI: What kind of chalkboard stuff do you and A.Q. go over?

CG: We just go over NFL plays. He’s always like, “you never want to be the dumb Ricky.” If he can get me to about 80% to 90% of stuff that I need to know going into where I’m trying to go, he’s done his job, and I definitely think he’s doing that. I’ve learned a lot about the minute stuff of defenses and plays, as well as concepts and stuff that I haven’t really touched too much in depth in college. You learn that stuff, and then at a point, you’re just switching from team to team, so being able to get the grand scheme of things is nice.

JI: How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?

CG: Outside of football? I’m a big anime fan. That’s something I do, watch the anime. Since I’m doing so much right now, I ust try to find some time to relax. When I’m at school, I’ll hang out with my friends. If a game’s on, we’ll watch the game, or if a fight’s on, we’ll watch the fight. I play a little bit of video games here and there, so that’s pretty that’s pretty much it.

JI: What are your top three favorite anime?

CG: So, number one would be Naruto. That’s my favorite. Number two, I’m a big fan of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Number three, it’s a little different from the last two, but it’s called Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. I don’t know if you heard about that, but it’s kind of slice of life, but at the same time, this kid, he’s fed up with his old life, but he falls in love with rock music. He meets this guy, they start a band. I think it’s really nice to see the development of the character, as well as him learning instruments. It makes me want to learn how to play guitar, too.

JI: I’ve had a few players tell me they like anime. You’re the first one I’ve talked to who’s also a JoJo’s fan like I am.

CG: Same here, man. My brother put me on to JoJo’s. I think I read a little bit of the manga but definitely [watched] when it came out on Netflix. The newer version — I haven’t really watched the older version — but the newer version is nice.

JI: Who’s your favorite JoJo?

CG: Favorite JoJo, I’d say I’m a big fan of Jotaro. He’s my favorite, and then my favorite Stand, though, is Weather Forecast. He whispers and stuff like, that’s, that’s a nice stand. What about you?

JI: Good question. I’m partial to Josuke, honestly. Like you said, I like that slice of life sort of deal. I dig that whole part of Diamond is Unbreakable. Favorite stand, I know it’s a little cliche, but I might have to say, Star Platinum.

CG: I think all the references [to music] are so cool. I don’t know about you, but there are songs and artists and stuff that I don’t know about, but then I’ll look up, it’s like, “oh, what’s this Stand mean”, and I’ll play that song. You know the song in season one, yeah? The outro? “Roundabout” by Yes…I did not know that song until I started watching it, and it’s a nice one,

JI: That’s a good one. I remember the “To Be Continued” meme and didn’t know where it was from. Then, when I started watching JoJo’s, I was so floored to see that in the outro.

CG: I know, that’s crazy. I know the joke is, “everything is a JoJo’s reference”. That’s so funny.

JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?

CG: I know you’d be getting somebody that tries his hardest on and off the field. I have great character. I’m a guy that’s very athletic. I’m fast off the ball. I can use my physical attributes to help out the team, as well as somebody that, yeah, I’m a nice guy, but when I’m on the field, I don’t mind dragging my nuts across someone’s face. You put on the film, I’m throwing people in the ground and getting bodies. I definitely try my hardest to push the team and everybody around me to be the best we can be.