The Calgary Stampeders have signed their first round, seventh overall pick from the 2021 Global Draft, punter Cody Grace.
The six-foot-two, 228-pound Grace was born in Perth, Australia and played three seasons (2017-2019) at Arkansas State University. In 37 career games with the Red Wolves, he punted 178 times for a 42.1-yard average with his longest punt travelling 75 yards. The Aussie also had 42 punts of at least 50 yards and 75 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
In 2017, Grace became the first player in Arkansas State history to be a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award as the NCAA’s top punter. Arkansas State set an NCAA record in 2018 with minus-15 punt return yards allowed as only eight of Grace’s 64 punts were returned. He was named first-team all-Sun Belt Conference in 2019.
The 25-year-old Grace grew up playing Australian rules football at Warwick Senior High School and graduated from Arkansas State with a degree in exercise science.
