Eastside player signs scholarship

<p>When Eastside High School senior defensive tackle Nigel McGruger signed a National Letter of Intent to play college football at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa, it signaled the end of a journey that has seen him escape not having a permanent home to being headed to college.</p><p>McGruger, 6'2" and 225 pounds, played defensive tackle for the Rams this past season after transferring from Gainesville High School. He said the coaches at Waldorf have promised him a starting spot at defensive end and they also have told him he will see action at fullback and linebacker.</p><p>"They like the way my motor is always running," said McGruger, who sold himself to the Waldorf coaching staff by emailing them information about himself that convinced them he is worthy of a scholarship.</p><p>At Waldorf, he will be joining former Eastside players tight end DeVontae Battles and running back Raheem Watkins, former Buchholz High School offensive lineman Joe Carter and former Gainesville High School wide receiver Anquan Gainey, all of whom graduated from high school in 2011. The Warriors were 2-9 overall last season and 0-7 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).</p><p>When McGruger signed his scholarship, he was flanked by Maria Robinson and teammate Ezekiel Hicks. McGruder considers Robinson his godmother because she welcomed him into her home after finding out that he was not eating.</p><p>Robinson said she has known McGruger for about two years and knew he was not living in the best of situations. She said neither of his parents have been a part of his life much and she knew he was living wherever he could since he was about 15 years old.</p><p>"He called me one day last year and told me to bring him some water, and when I got to him, I realized he had not been eating," Robinson said. "He told me that the electricity had been off for four or five days where he was living, and I just decided to bring him home to live with me and he has been here ever since."</p><p>Robinson is the mother of Eastside senior lineman Derek O'Neal.</p><p>McGruger said he had Hicks on the stage with him because he accidentally injured Hick's leg while making a tackle in practice. He said Hicks is one of his best friends, "and whether he signs or not, I wanted him to feel what it is like being up there on that stage."</p><p>McGruger said Waldorf coaches have told him to work on getting stronger and faster and to keep his intensity level up at the level he played last season.</p><p>"The coach (Waldorf head coach Kent Anderson) emailed me today (last Wednesday) and told me to bring my A game because I am going to be thrown in the fire," McGruger said. "He doesn't have to worry about that though, because I only know one way to play, and that is at full speed every play, no matter what the score is."</p>