Grant Wiley Grant Wiley ( born March 11 , 1981 ) is a former American college and professional football player . He played college football for West Virginia University , and earned All - American honors at linebacker . He played professionally for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League ( NFL ) , but never appeared in a regular season NFL game . He became a creator in art and entertainment after suffering a career - ending shoulder injury . Early years . Wiley was born in Trappe , Pennsylvania . He attended Perkiomen Valley High School in Graterford , Pennsylvania , and played high school football for the Perkiomen Valley Vikings . He was recognized as the Offensive Player of the Year by the " Norristown Times - Herald " his senior year following his junior campaign as the Defensive Player of the Year . He was named Pac - 10 MVP , PCTV Offensive Player of the Year and the Pottstown Mercury Player of the Year . He was also named to the " Philadelphia Inquirer " All - Area team . He was selected to play in the Ohio - Pennsylvania Big 33 game . He was rated the eighth - best Linebacker prospect in the East by " PrepStar " . He won Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors as a junior . He was named to the Pennsylvania Sports Fever Fab 85 . He was also named to the " Pennsylvania Football News " All - State team . College career . Wiley attended West Virginia University , and played for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team from 2000 to 2003 . As a freshman in 2000 , he earned Big East Rookie of the Year honors after recording 94 tackles and 14 tackles for losses , he recorded three interceptions , one reception for 26 yards against East Carolina and two against Idaho which he returned one for a touchdown . He was voted Second - team Freshman All - America n and finished the season 12th in the conference in tackles and seventh in tackles - for - losses . His best performance of the season came against Idaho , when he recorded seven tackles , 2 . 5 sacks , and two interceptions . His first interceptions came in the third quarter , down 9 - 0 , when he intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown . The interception helped the Mountaineers record a come - from - behind victory . In 2001 , Wiley ' s sophomore season was a relatively quiet season for him due to a nagging hamstring pull in the Mountaineers opener versus Boston College . One of his best performances came in a 35 - 0 loss to Virginia Tech , where he had a key interception . He was awarded the Ideal Mountaineer Man Award by the West Virginia coaches at the end of the season . As a junior in 2002 , Wiley earned national recognition . One of his best games was against Temple , where the Mountaineers won 46 - 20 . He recorded an interception in the game that he returned deep into Temple territory , and a forced fumble by quarterback Mike Frost . Wiley recorded 133 tackles and two interceptions for the season . Wiley ' s senior season , 2003 , started as an average season for the Mountaineers . After starting the season 1 - 4 , the Mountaineers won 7 straight games in the Big East to claim a share of the conference championship . West Virginia played Rutgers in a must - win situation , Wiley helped the Mountaineers win 34 - 19 , by recording 11 tackles and a diving interception . Also , in the 52 - 31 victory over Pitt , he recorded a key interception in the endzone . Wiley also recorded 18 tackles in the game against the Miami Hurricanes . A team captain , Wiley earned consensus All - American honors for the season , making him one of only a handful of Mountaineers to do so . He was also a finalist for the 2003 Bronko Nagurski Award , which was won by Oklahoma ' s Derrick Strait . Wiley led the nation that season with 7 forced fumbles and ranked third with 7 . 6 tackles per game . He finished the year with 158 tackles , 14 tackles for a loss , two interceptions , and nine forced fumbles . Professional career . Wiley was rated as the 13th best out of 51 Inside Linebackers and was projected to be selected in the sixth or seventh round . However , he went undrafted in the 2004 NFL Draft and later signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings , on April 27 . On August 6 , he was placed on the waived - injured list by the Vikings . He was later placed on injured reserve . In 2005 , Wiley returned to Vikings training camp once again . This training camp was to be his last , as he seriously injured his shoulder in early August . After injuring his shoulder he was listed as day - to - day . However , turned out the injury was worse than expected . Thus , on August 9 , he was waived , after agreeing on an injury settlement . That injury , being his second to require surgery , turned out to be career ending . Life after football . After losing 60 pounds , Wiley is currently living in New York City . He is working as a creator in the world of art and entertainment . Wiley trained in theater with master teacher , William Esper . He is currently working on writing and producing film and television projects . He is also surfacing as an acclaimed singer / songwriter / vocalist for the group , G . n ' 8 , as well as a visual artist . His film credits as a background actor includes , " Sex and the City : The Movie , Limitless , The Adjustment Bureau , The WIre , Lipstick Jungle , 40 , Kings , Damages , and All My Children . "