Nick Grant is in his second season with Utah State as a junior analyst for the defense. The 2026 season will be his third year working for head coach Bronco Mendenhall.
In his first year at Utah State in 2025, Grant helped Utah State to a 6-7 record (4-4 Mountain West) and its 12th bowl game in the last 15 years. With Grant on staff, USU had six defenders earn All-MW honors as cornerback Noah Avinger and linebacker John Miller were both named to the first-team, while defensive tackle Gabriel Iniguez Jr., linebacker Bronson Olevao Jr., and safeties Brevin Hamblin and Ike Larsen were both named honorable mention. Avinger highlighted these honorees as he was named a HERO Sports Group of Five Second Team All-American.
Utah State had one defender honored by the MW during the season as Hamblin was named the MW Defensive Player of the Week following his performance against Nevada as he had a team-high eight tackles, including a career-high-tying 1.0 sacks and a season-high 1.5 tackles for loss, to go along with an interception he returned 38 yards for a touchdown. Hamblin also recovered a fumble in the red zone at the 1-yard line.
Defensively, Utah State forced 17 turnovers during the season with 13 interceptions and four fumbles and limited its opponents to just 17 points during the year following 11 Aggie turnovers.
Grant came to Utah State after spending the 2024 season as a defensive graduate assistant at New Mexico. He helped the Lobos to a 5-7 record, marking the program’s most wins in eight years. Their season was highlighted by a 38-35 victory against No. 19 Washington State, snapping a 26-game losing streak against nationally ranked teams. The UNM victory was its first win over a top-20 team since 1994 and its first non-conference win against a top-20 opponent since 1940.
Grant played six seasons at Virginia, redshirting in 2016 and earning five letters. He played in 59 games for the Cavaliers with 32 starts, recording 138 tackles, four interceptions, three forced fumbles and 24 pass breakups.
Grant signed with the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL after his collegiate career and played for the Houston Gamblers of the USFL and the Houston Roughnecks of the UFL.
The Spotsylvania, Virginia, native graduated from Virginia in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in foreign affairs and earned his master’s in educational psychology in 2021.