SCOTTSDALE — Samajie Grant didn’t know how to respond.
Arizona’s sophomore wide receiver walked into a relative’s house to celebrate Christmas when his 9-year-old nephew, Donald, hit him with a harsh question.
“He was like, ‘Uncle, why are you drinking? I thought you played sports,’” Grant relayed Monday. “I didn’t have an answer for him.”
Grant, who was cited for suspicion of driving under the influence last month, thought he’d be able to leave his mistake back in Tucson when he returned to Chino, California, for the holiday.
But as he is learning, a decision like that follows you everywhere.
So when the 5-foot-9-inch, 177-pound Grant walked into a giant ballroom Monday morning at the Camelback Inn for Fiesta Bowl Media Day, he was ready to be peppered again about his mistake.
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Of course, none of the questions were tougher than Donald’s.
“That mistake I made has made me become a better person and a better man,” Grant said. “It pushes me way harder.”
Coach Rich Rodriguez said Monday that Grant will start Wednesday’s game against Boise State and has been a perfect citizen since the citation.
“He did have the so-called money in the bank,” Rodriguez said. “His attitude has always been good. Every once in a while a young guy makes a bad decision or a mistake, and he pays the price for it.
“But I love Samajie, and his attitude and the way he works. He’s good to go.”
Grant, whose court hearing scheduled for Monday was postponed, was pulled over by police hours after helping the Wildcats beat rival Arizona State in the Territorial Cup. He was cited and released after failing a field sobriety test and got back to his apartment around 4 a.m.
Three hours later, he had a visitor in his room, waking him up.
It was UA receivers coach Tony Dews.
“He was standing over me in my bed and he’s like, ‘Get up, we’re about to go talk to Coach Rod,’” Grant said. “We went there and he was just asking me what happened. I was being completely honest with him that I made a mistake. He said, ‘This can never happen again. You have to move forward if you want to be the player you always tell me you want to be. You can’t make mistakes like this.’
“I don’t plan on making any more mistakes off the field.”
Grant was suspended for the first half of the Pac-12 championship game. He watched the first 30 minutes of the UA’s 51-13 loss to the Ducks from the sideline. He wasn’t told before the game how long his suspension would last.
“I’m not going to lie, I expected after the first quarter, OK, maybe (Rodriguez) will put me in,” Grant said. “Once that flew by, I still wasn’t in. I’m just seeing the offense, we’re not getting any yards. I’m not saying I could get in and get 100 yards, but it made it harder to watch. I knew if I was out there, it would help. It really hurt me after the game, just seeing the score because I knew I could make a difference in the game. That was a big thing that hurt me.”
Grant, who is second on the UA with 649 receiving yards and five touchdowns, said the good memories of the Territorial Cup win have been erased, despite the fact that he had 91 yards and two touchdowns.
The easy-going Grant, who usually has a smile on his face, even throughout interviews Monday, said one of the hardest parts of his citation is knowing how much he let people down.
“I’m not supposed to care what people think, but in a situation like that, of course, I care what people think,” Grant said. “But me personally, even that night, I’m always happy. Even when the police pulled me over, I was smiling and I was like, ‘How are you doing, sir?’ I was just smiling and laughing and not thinking anything was going to happen. Then that happened.
“Now when people talk to me about the ASU game, I don’t even take credit for it. That game and that mistake, it just crosses it out.”
Grant is eager to play a full game Wednesday against Boise State and continue putting the DUI in the past. He’s also hoping to continue to mature to become a leader for the Wildcats next season when he’s an upperclassman.
“I want to be a perfect player,” Grant said. “I want to be on the honor roll. I don’t want to just be a leader through football, I want to be a leader outside of it, too. I don’t like to see myself as a leader yet, because before I become a real leader, I want to do everything perfect.”
