Former USC football star nominated for Grammy

When he originally suited up for the USC Trojans, Leon McQuay III knew his future was in music. He just knew the first matter of business was on the college football field. The former Trojans star shined when his team needed him the most in the 2017 Rose Bowl against the Penn State Nittany Lions, intercepting a pass late in the fourth quarter and moving the ball into field goal range. USC defeated Penn State 52-49, in a classic.

The former Rose Bowl standout made some history in the music industry on Friday night, as he was nominated for a Grammy Award after he contributed to H.E.R.’s album. That album is up for Album of the Year.

It’s a really cool accomplishment for McQuay. During his four-year career with the USC Trojans, he racked up 123 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and five interceptions. In the NFL, he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. His football career in the pros didn’t last very long as he was waived by the Chiefs on May 7, 2019.

McQuay was a top-40 overall prospect for USC

Before enrolling at USC, McQuay was a highly touted four-star prospect coming out of Armwood High School (Seffner, Florida). He was rated as the No. 6 safety prospect in America, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings for the 2013 recruiting cycle. Those same rankings also ranked him as the No. 35 overall prospect in the country for that class. Other highly rated prospects for USC in the 2013 recruiting class included Su’a Cravens, a safety out of Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, California). Cravens was rated as a five-star prospect for the Trojans’ 2013 recruiting class and he was also rated as the No. 1 ranked safety in the 2013 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings.