Le'Andre Vallot Signs NLI with Grambling

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Crete-Monee football player Le'Andre Vallot signs with Grambling

By Mike Nieto mike.nieto@nwi.com, (219) 933-3232 | Posted: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 7:52 pm

Crete-Monee's Le'Andre Vallot didn't hesitate when he was offered a scholarship to play at Grambling State.

NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Doug Williams is the Tigers' coach and Vallot is looking forward to playing for Williams.

"It didn't take long for me to accept," Vallot said. "You have a Hall of Fame quarterback telling you how good you are and he wants yo to play for him."

Vallot said he wanted to go away for college and felt comfortable with Williams.

"I really wanted to play in the South," Vallot said. "It is a warm climate and football is real big in the South."

Vallot, who had originally committed to the University of St. Francis in Joliet, said he will be a defensive back. He also said he likes the tradition of Grambling, a traditionally black college. The late Eddie Robinson produced many NFL players, including Williams, as the Tigers' coach.

"Great tradition and Southern football has that," Vallot said. "I am aware of what Coach Robinson did here and what Coach Williams did in the NFL."

Williams is the only black quarterback to win a Super Bowl when he was named the Super Bowl XXII MVP as he led the Washington Redskins to a rout of the Denver Broncos.

Vallot said he could not pass up the opportunity to play Division I football. The Tigers are in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, one that has produced more than its share of NFL stars.

"I want to play against great competition and against the best," Vallot said. "I know I have to work really hard to get better."