Grace earned all-conference honors as an offensive lineman with
the Rams in 2001-2002, transferred to NCAA Division II CMSU
following his one-year stint at Gavilan.
Gavilan College alumnus Darryl Grace will be inducted into the Central Missouri State University athletics Hall of Fame.
Grace, who earned all-conference honors as an offensive lineman in two seasons with the Rams in 2001 and 2002, transferred to NCAA Division II CMSU following his two-year stint at Gavilan.
Grace’s success continued at the four-year level, earning First-Team All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association honors, First-Team All-Region, Academic All-MIAA and an honorable mention All-American in 2003. That same year, the Mules were co-MIAA champions.
As a senior, the accolades continued to roll in for the former Ram. Grace was named First-Team All-MIAA, All-Region, American Football Coaches Association First-Team All-American, Academic All-MIAA, Second-Team Academic All-District, MIAA Commissioner Academic Honor Roll and a Cactus Bowl All-Star game participant.
“I would describe myself as a hardworker or as a person who would find a way to get the job done. I think my teammates would say the same. I never thought I was ever good but always strived to be known as great,” Grace wrote in a statement. “However, my family was my motivation. I always thought of the sacrifices my parents were making so that I could achieve my dreams. Utilizing that as motivation, video studying of opponents, techniques taught at practice, and owning the opponents’ will was what helped me achieve my goals.”
For as much as he did on the football field, his academic record spoke volumes as well. Grace left Gavilan with a 3.54 grade-point average and graduated with a bachelors degree in aviation technology with a 3.6 GPA in 2005, becoming a professional pilot. He went on to earn his masters in aviation safety in December of that same year and is currently the Assistant Director of Operations/Chief Pilot for Mokulele Airlines.
Grace came to Gavilan via Konawaena High School in Hawaii, playing three years of varsity football and garnering all-league recognition his junior and senior year.
