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Five Questions: North Canyon Defensive Coordinator Keith Grayson

"Five Questions" is a series here on Arizona Varsity geared to help our readers get to know some of the most integral and impactful personalities in and around sports in Arizona.

Today's subject: North Canyon Defensive Coordinator Keith Grayson.

Grayson was the first coach to ever invite me out to talk to student athletes about recruiting, and it gave me a chance to get to know someone that was passionate about student athletes, college football and the community. Grayson joined Head Coach Jeremy Dieck out at North Canyon, and they're attempting to resurrect a program that has struggled in the wake of the rise of other schools in the area.

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You're the biggest Arkansas fan I know. What's your fandom origin story? My mother's family is originally from there- sell me on why I should jump on board the Razorback train.

"Wait. You can’t bolt on the Wyoming Cowboys yet. I just got you a John Okwoli signed game jersey. Ha! For real though, I moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas when I was in the 1st grade in 1991. The first sporting event I attended was #1 UNLV vs. #2 Arkansas at the old Barnhill Arena. It was absolute chaos. The fans were lunatics. Tark the Shark, Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, and Greg Anthony beat us that night, but I was hooked on the Hogs from then on. I moved to Little Rock in the 3rd grade. Growing up there definitely toughened me up for the real world and gave me a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. Fast forward to the present, and I wear being from Arkansas as a badge of honor. I love being an underdog. I love outworking my competition to achieve success. I love being an Arkansan. Everyone should visit Northwest Arkansas. It is a vastly underrated part of the country. Also, we have Sam Pittman, Eric Musselman, and Dave Van Horn leading our big 3 Programs. Who wouldn’t pull for those guys to win?"

How did the idea for 4th and 25 fund come about- and how does it help both athletes and the Fayetteville community? 

"As these collectives started popping up at different institutions, my group of friends got together to create a charity based NIL fund that works with student athletes from the University of Arkansas. Instead of giving money to student athletes just for signing with a particular college team, we sought out individuals that wanted to be involved with the community. We have had several successful campaigns with Trey Knox, Chris “Pooh” Paul, Jr., and Layden Blocker.

The premise? We work with the student athlete to identify an area of need within Arkansas, and they help us promote their cause through social media advertising. They create their own LLC, and we pay them a small portion of the donations collected for a marketing fee and guest appearances. Trey raised money for animal shelters around Northwest Arkansas. Pooh collected donations to give Lyft ride credits to those in rural communities to get to medical appointments. Layden did a toy drive for 40 kids at the North Little Rock Boys and Girls Club. In my opinion, this is the highest and best use of the NIL.

The name is derived from the play against Ole Miss where Hunter Henry heaved the ball across the field on a 4th and 25 play that was tipped by Dan Skipper and hit Alex Collins in stride to convert to a 1st down."


North Canyon has always been a school with elite athletes, and now that you're out there as a Defensive Coordinator, who are some of the players that we should be paying attention to this year?

"Jeremy Dieck, the Rattlers Head Coach, is my best friend, and we have been talking for years about the talent that comes through North Canyon. Now that we are here, we have made a huge priority on getting the kids with NC as their home school to come play for us. We have some dynamic 2027s enrolled already that could be the best group to ever come through our school. In the 2026 class we are loaded on both lines with Langston Asante, Leighton McKenzie, Elijah Villarreal, and Markel Arnold. Dominic Dampier (2026), Levi Moncrief (2025 Cactus Shadows transfer), and Damien Straub (2025) are going to give us some serious threats at WR in our new uptempo system.

Colin Faris (2025) and Diego Parra (2024 Pinnacle transfer) are early candidates for my captains on defense. We are young across the board, but these dudes have talent, and are showing up to everything that we ask them to do. Our numbers on Varsity are going to double by next season, and the new competition is going to be good for everyone involved."

When we first met, you were helping out at Shadow Mountain, and you were probably the first person to ever ask me to come speak to players about the process of recruiting. What are some of the things you consider to be best practices for players that are hoping to play football beyond high school?

"Man, I just hit Chilly up about hosting one of these for our entire district. It’s probably more important than ever to educate high school student athletes on the process of getting recruited. The landscape has changed drastically since we hosted that event back in 2015. Not only do you have to beat out other high schoolers for scholarships, but the transfer portal means that you have college Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors competing for the same spots. Academics, on-field production, weight room numbers, physical attributes, and exposure are more important than ever. It seems like everything just got magnified overnight.

Families have to have a plan. You have to identify realistic options and reach out to those schools early. Attend their practices. Call and email the On-Campus Recruiting Coordinators to set up unofficial visits in the Spring. College football coaches love early enrollees so set out a plan to graduate high school in December of your Senior year. Don’t wait until your Senior year to start looking at colleges either. You can register with the NCAA Clearinghouse as a Freshmen to get the process started.

As a coach, you will never hear me say that it isn’t my job to help get my guys recruited. I subscribe to the Jason Mohns theory of how he reloaded at Saguaro every year. He was relentless in sending his student athletes’ game film out to college coaches and contacting them about his guys throughout the season. I got into coaching to help kids live out their dreams and attend college for free. I am willing to do whatever it takes to get my athletes offers. Point blank."

You've been around Arizona high school football a long time- who are some of the players you enjoyed watching play, or coaching the most? 

"My favorite player to ever coach was a JV Mike Linebacker at Shadow Mountain named Greg Winkler. I have never seen someone play with more effort than him. Diego Parra, my current Money on defense is a close second, but Winkler was an absolute maniac. I don’t think he had control of his own body during games. He was impossible to block, and I blitzed him from a different gap nearly every down. I don’t even remember if he played Varsity football after that season, but he was a cheat code for me on Junior Varsity. I will never forget when he had like 17 tackles, 6 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and a broken nose while single-handedly shutting out a Goldwater team.

Speaking of which, back in the day Shadow Mountain had some dudes. Darion Spottsville, Jake Welsheimer, Jordan Pace, Nate Hollins, and Jalen Scott were all great to be around while I was just getting into coaching. Just imagine if multi-state champion basjetball stars JJ Rhymes, Jovan Blackshear, Jaelen House, and Harrison Hilliard played on some of those teams.

Shadow was loaded with athletes when I was there with Dieck, Brock Farrel, and Shaun McDonald. Out of all those guys though, the best to watch every day at practice and on Friday nights was Destin Nasr. He was 5’7” 150 lbs, and was the best player on the field every time he put the pads on. He was a lockdown corner and scored nearly every time he touched the ball. I absolutely loved watching him play. He could be a hell of a coach, too."

"Opponents-wise…Emanuel Gant from Tempe in 2015 was the best high school QB that I have seen live. Recently, I really respected Paradise Valley’s Jaiden McDaniel’s game. He is just a natural born leader on the field. I haven’t really coached against him, but Adam Mohammed from Apollo may be the most underrated player out of Arizona in a long time. He probably scored 3 more touchdowns since I started answering these questions."

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