Zach Grisham’s Oregon story had all the markings of a long shot from the start. He arrived in Eugene as a walk-on, worked his way into the Ducks’ defensive back rotation and special teams, and then found out this fall camp that his grind had earned him something bigger.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning had already made a habit of pointing out Grisham’s effort, both in public and inside team meetings. But when the staff rolled his highlight tape, the message started to feel different. Grisham could tell something was coming as the clips kept stacking up.
“He started showing some plays I made in practice,” Grisham said. “I’m like, this is a bit different.
And then he showed another play. And another play.
And I was like, ‘Uh oh.’”
The suspense ended in the best way possible. After a second highlight tape featuring Grisham’s teammate and fellow walk-on, Lanning told both players they were being put on scholarship.
“The room just erupts,” Grisham said. “That was a really cool moment, just seeing the support and love from my teammates, my brothers.
But then talking about it with my parents, like, I called them right after. My Mom started crying.”
Grisham’s path to Oregon wasn’t exactly direct. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, he moved with his family to Tennessee, then South Carolina, then back to Tennessee before eventually landing in Oregon because of his father’s job.
At Central Catholic, he played three seasons of varsity football for Steve Pyne and was part of the Rams’ 2021 team that went 14-0 and won a state title. With several teammates headed to Division I programs - including two to Oregon - Grisham was preparing for junior college football at College of San Mateo.
That changed when former Oregon safeties coach Matt Powledge brought him in for the Ducks’ spring game in 2022. Grisham toured the facilities, watched the game from the sideline and saw former high school teammates Ellis Bynum and Emar’rion Winston in uniform.
By the end of the day, Powledge told him Oregon might have a walk-on opening. The call was supposed to come by Monday.
“Monday rolls around. I’m expecting a call to happen in the morning, like, ‘Alright you’re good to go,’” Grisham said.
“Whole day goes by. I ain’t hear nothing.
It’s, like, 7 p.m., coach still ain’t called me. 8:00 rolls by, nothing. 9:00 rolls by. I decided I’m just gonna go to bed.
I’m done with it at this point.
“And right when I’m about to fall asleep, he calls me. He’s like, ‘Hey, Zach, we’ve got a spot for you. Welcome to the team.’”
The adjustment was immediate and humbling. He got to campus and discovered he had to share a locker with another walk-on, and his name was misspelled as Gresham, like the city. Kenny Farr, Oregon’s longtime equipment administrator, fixed that quickly.
Then came the first practice rep, and it was a wake-up call.
“My first rep, I was going against Kris Hutson,” Grisham said. “And he ran the most crazy out route I’ve ever seen.
He was running full speed, one, two, and cut out. I said, ‘Oh, my goodness, this is college football.’”
Grisham spent years going against Oregon’s wideouts, including Troy Franklin, Tez Johnson, Traeshon Holden and a steady stream of other top receivers. His playing time was limited early on, and after appearing in two games in 2024, he suffered a season-ending injury.
This season, though, he became a more visible piece of the roster. Grisham appeared in 12 of Oregon’s 15 games in 2025 and finished with nine tackles, including three multi-tackle games.
Oregon cornerbacks coach Rashad Wadood made it clear the scholarship was about more than a feel-good moment.
“I love Zach Grisham,” Wadood said. “He’s been here since I got here.
Kid works so hard, it’s amazing. There’s one standard on the back end, so it’s not, ‘Oh, you’re a walk-on.’
Everybody has got that same standard.”
Grisham is expected to be in his fifth and final college season unless another unusual court ruling changes that. For now, he says he wants to be ready if Oregon needs him in a deep, young secondary.
His right arm, once bare, is now covered in religious tattoos, which he calls his “faith appendage.”
“Starting as a walk-on, I’m so grateful because it taught me persistence, resilience, which is just so useful in life,” Grisham said. “I know that whenever the ball does go flat, whatever I do, I’ll be just fine. Because I was here at Oregon.”
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