Grant Radakovich, son of Georgia Tech AD, switches football teams

Grant Radakovich, the son of Georgia Tech’s athletics director Dan Radakovich, has changed his college football plans.

Radakovich signed a football scholarship with Mars Hill last February, but said he recently both requested and was requested a release. He is now committed to Mercer University.

OL-TE Grant Radakovich (Photo from RaidersFB.org)

The 6-foot-1, 240-pound tight end from Walton High School made the change of plans after visiting Mars Hill with his parents for orientation and student registration a couple of weeks ago. The NCAA Div. II school is located in rural North Carolina.

“I went up to Mars Hill and it was a beautiful campus and everything,” Radakovich told the AJC. “I really thought it was going to be the place for me. But after I went up there, looked around, and came back home, my parents and I talked about it. They said ‘We’re not really sure if it’s a good fit for you.’ I kind of agreed. I was kind of feeling that way, too.

“The coaching staff was great, and I was really excited about playing there. But I’m not sure if the other aspects of college life were going to work out for me there.”

Radakovich leaned on his father’s advice. “He said ‘You need to go where you feel like you’re going to fit in. Not just on the football field but in every aspect.’”

It was a tough phone call for the younger Radakovich to make to the Mars Hill coaches. “They weren’t mad, but they were disappointed. They really wanted me to play football there. But, overall, they were great about the situation.”

Instead, Radakovich will enroll play at Mercer, a new program which will begin playing games for the 2013 season. His other options were walking on at Georgia Tech or enrolling as a student-only at Clemson.

“When I signed, it came down to Mars Hill or Mercer,” he said. “It was really close. I kept their number in my phone just in case … I’m excited about being part of their program now.”

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– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog

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