Note: The following appears in the North Carolina football digital gameday guide, available HERE.
Grady Sherrill has had quite the college football journey, playing for three different schools in the span of his five-year career. Starting off playing at North Carolina from 2022 to 2024 as a preferred walk-on, he appeared in one game. He transferred to South Dakota for the 2025 season, appearing in eight games.
Now in his final year of eligibility, he wears #89 as a wide receiver for the Tigers.
“I'm from Greensboro, N.C. In high school, I didn't have a ton of offers during my senior year, outside of some smaller schools. Towards the spring of my senior year, North Carolina offered a preferred walk-on spot, so I took it and went there. I was there for three years, graduated from UNC and then went to South Dakota last fall and played there for a season, and then transferred to Clemson for my last year.”
Noting Clemson is the third program of Sherrill’s career, Grady believes that Head Coach Dabo Swinney has elevated his college experience.
“I've enjoyed everywhere I've been, but I would say there's definitely a different type of culture here from an organizational standpoint. It's been a really cool program to be a part of so far. From the top down, from Coach Swinney on, everyone is held to a certain standard. He talks about it all the time, being your best, and that's something that separates Clemson.”
August Camp was Sherrill’s first real look at how Clemson practices.
“This camp was definitely tough. The pace of practice here is faster than I've had in the past, so it took a couple days to get acclimated to everything, but camp was great.”
Much has changed throughout Sherrill’s career, but one thing that remains consistent is his family.
“My dad played football and coached me when I was young. He’s been a huge part of my athletic career and it’s been great having him and my mom to talk to. They've been awesome throughout the whole process, and I always feel like I can call them and get support from them.”
In 2016, Hunter Renfrow caught the legendary winning pass against Alabama to win the national title. Sherrill was a teenager in Greensboro, N.C., watching a walk-on wide receiver secure a championship for his team. Now, he wears #89 as a walk-on for the same program.
“Growing up, my favorite college player was Hunter Renfrow. Watching him play here and all the success that he had, I remember watching the national championship game when he caught the game-winning touchdown against Alabama. It’s pretty cool being able to finish out my career for the same team. I also think about some of the smaller slot wide receivers, like Wes Welker. He’s someone who I watched growing up that I've tried to model my game after.”
Clemson has had a history of fielding impactful walk-ons, and that history of success is very important to Sherrill.
“The history means everything. Coach Swinney talked a lot about how former players should be proud of the way we play and practice. When you walk in the receiver room and it's all the names and people on the wall, there have been so many great players, and a lot of them were walk-ons. It's definitely something that none of us take lightly.”
Considering Sherrill is a fifth-year transfer, this season is his last year of eligibility. As he continues his last season, he is planning on making it a good one.
“One thing that I'm trying to do this year is to have a good attitude about being here every day. The day-to-day can be hard with practices and meetings, but this is my last year, so I am going to make the most of it and enjoy everything and take nothing for granted.”
Tiger fans are looking forward to seeing Sherrill take the field and make an impact, any way he can.