Kamu Grugier-Hill has been a journeyman throughout his football career. Born Caelan Kamuela Grugier-Hill, he grew up in Honolulu and played safety and punter in high school. He later excelled at Eastern Illinois, where his aggressive playing style led him to numerous accolades. Some Gopher fans might remember his infamous play in the 2014 opener when the officials ejected him for punching a Minnesota offensive lineman in the groin.
Drafted in the sixth round by the New England Patriots in 2016, Grugier-Hill has seen it all in the NFL. With the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017, Grugier-Hill played linebacker and filled in for injured kicker Jake Elliott on his way to winning a Super Bowl. Overall, Grugier-Hill has had stops with the Patriots, the Eagles, the Miami Dolphins (where he met Brian Flores), the Houston Texans, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Carolina Panthers before signing a one-year $1.37 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. While with the Texans in 2021, Grugier-Hill set the single-game tackles record with 19 in a game against the Indianapolis Colts.
As a journeyman veteran, Grugier-Hill was likely more excited than nervous when he had his chance to fill in for injured Ivan Pace Jr. against the Texans. In Flores’ scheme, Grugier filled the same role as Pace does for the Vikings, serving as a run-stopping linebacker with speed on base downs and in base packages.
Grugier-Hill started the party early for the Vikings. On C.J. Stroud’s second pass of the game, he broke his streak of 266 passes without an interception. In the clip below, you can see Grugier-Hill put himself in the right spot at the right time when Harrison Phillips deflects Stroud’s pass. Grugier-Hill takes advantage of it, snatching the ball out of the air and getting good yards before celebrating enthusiastically.
Grugier-Hill almost forced another turnover just a few plays later. Here, fellow linebacker Blake Cashman pulls the trigger on a blitz from space. Grugier-Hill shows his speed in filling the void behind Cashman, arriving ahead of schedule to make a great tackle on Schultz, forcing the ball out. For a while, the Vikings thought Grugier-Hill had forced another key turnover. Unfortunately, the officials deemed the play an incomplete pass after review. Grugier-Hills gets credit for a pass deflection instead of a forced fumble. Either way, a great play.
Grugier-Hill also held his own in his primary role of filling with speed and aggression in the run game. Below, the Texans try an outside-zone against Minnesota’s base defense. Josh Metellus does a great job forcing the play back towards pursuit, and Grugier-Hill shows his quickness in avoiding Houston’s RT and is there to make the play.
On the next play, you can see the speed and physicality that Grugier-Hill possesses. The Texans try a long trap toward their TE. While Harrison Smith makes a great play to avoid the pulling guard, Grugier-Hill is there to end any chance for Cam Akers to have a big gain.
The Vikings have gotten off to a tremendous start, and they’ve been able to weather injuries to key contributors on both sides of the ball. Grugier-Hill is a great example of the quality depth that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah identified and signed this offseason.
