Background
Granger was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, where he graduated from Barringer High School as part of the class of 1980, where he was a teammate of future NFL player Andre Tippett.
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Norm Granger
Edit ProfileCareer
He played college football for the University of Iowa. He accepted a scholarship from the University of Iowa. In his first year he was used returning kickoffs.
He became a starter at fullback as a sophomore and contributed to the team reaching the Rose Bowl.
That year he returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against Indiana University. Although blocking wasn"t his strength, he had above average running and receiving skills for a fullback.
The next year he posted 352 rushing yards and 260 receiving yards. He also had a 63-yard reception for a touchdown against Indiana University.
As a senior, although he only gained 466 rushing yards, he was still named team co-Most Valuable Player. He finished his college career with 1,100 rushing yards on 203 attempts (55 avg) and 45 reception for 409 yards.
Dallas Cowboys
Granger was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round (137th overall) of the 1984 NFL Draft. As a rookie he made the team after the retirement of Robert Newhouse and played in 15 games as a special teams player. He was released on August 27, 1985, after he was passed on the depth chart by Todd Fowler.
He was re-signed in 1986, but was placed on the injured reserve list on August 19.
Atlanta Falcons
After the players went on a strike on the third week of the 1987 season, those games were canceled (reducing the 16 game season to 15) and the NFL decided that the games would be played with replacement players. Granger was signed to be a part of the Atlanta Falcons replacement team
He played in three games (1 start), before being released at the end of the strike. In 2014, he recovered the Rose Bowl ring that was stolen from him at the end of his sophomore campaign.
He worked as a Black Hawk County Supervisor and as a residential officer in Waterloo, before being named the vice chairman of the Iowa Board of Parole.
