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Arizona football: Former UA back Nic Grigsby leaves CFL's Winnipeg Bombers

Wonder what happened to former UA running back Nic Grigsby? Some news out of the CFL has an answer.

Marianne Helm

All the success this season from senior Arizona running back Terris Jones-Grigsby probably made you wonder: Where in the heck is his half brother, former starting UA back Nic Grigsby? Wednesday, we found out.

It seems Grigsby was doing well considering all things. He was a member of the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Bombers -- was being the key word there. Grigsby's name popped up on my Twitter feed because he was surprisingly released from the 6-9 team despite still leading the CFL in touchdowns.

Grigsby had apparently gotten off to a hot start with the team before it lost six games in a row. Oddly enough, he was benched in the Bombers' last game, even though the majority of fans and news articles claimed that the CFL's worst rushing attack had little to do with Grigsby, who was a force in the pass (444 yards on 55 catches) and the run game (he was fourth in the CFL with 744 rushing yards and just under four yards per carry to this point).

Grigsby's now-former coach, Mike O'Shea, confirmed Grigsby wanted off the team and didn't throw him under the bus, according to the Winnipeg Sun.

"I brought him into the office to explain to him what his role was going to be this week, and he asked to be released," O'Shea said, stopping short of saying Grigsby quit on his team.

"The word quit can be a harsh word. Blame, quit - all those words I tend to stay away from. But he was given an option and he chose to leave."

So that's where Grigsby finds himself these days.

Grigsby followed his career at Arizona -- a successful one with 2,957 rush yards and 25 touchdowns -- with a brief stint with the Miami Dolphins and with another CFL squad before he returned to Arizona, where he played baseball at Arizona Christian University.

It seems he was well-liked by Winnipeg fans, and now it's on to the next chapter of a very interesting post-collegiate career.