COLUMBUS-- After a successful career at Ohio Dominican, Newark High School graduate Grant Russell found himself in unfamiliar territory--without a team.

“I understood I wasn't nationally exposed. We never made the playoffs when I was a starter, so that kind of hindered my chances a little bit,” says Russell. 

He hadn't drawn interested from the NFL, or Canadian Football League.

So Russell went back to Newark High School, and worked on his license as an intervention specialist, substitute taught and worked with the football team as a quarterback coach.

“I was disheartened with it but you have to just take it and keep going,” says Russell. 

After a year and a half, his luck finally changed.  This past fall, he was offered a contract by the Baltimore Brigade of the newly re-formed Arena Football League.

But it didn’t stop there.  A short time later, he got traded back home to the Columbus Destroyers.

“Yeah it was super surreal, soon as I got that phone call, I called my family, called my girlfriend and let them know and we were just all, we couldn't be happier,” says Russell. 

Destroyers head coach Matthew Sauk was the man who made the trade happen. 

“They just happened to have more quarterbacks than they needed and for whatever reason they wanted to give him to me, so I was like fine, i'll take him. And it just ended up working out. I mean it was a perfect match,” says Sauk. 

Although Russell says its been a learning experience adapting to the shorter Arena Football League field and developing chemistry with receivers, he says his teammates have embraced him since day one.

Sauk says Russell has the potential to be the face of the franchise, which had previously been in existence from 2004 to 2008.

“A want to find my guy. And Grant is the guy. He's got the attitude, he's got the ability, its just really learning the game and understanding how to make certain throws. He's not going to become an all-arena guy in the first five weeks or maybe even the first year. And we know as an organization it's a process. And i'm willing to kind of ride that wave that wave with him and kind of just see where he goes,” says Sauk. 

Russell says he's thrilled make his home debut  on May 18^th at Nationwide Arena, playing for a team he watched as a kid.

“I just remember how electric it was. I honestly thought it was more fun than being at an NBA or NFL game, because it was so fast paced and back then, the attendance at those games were crazy. It's surreal for me to be able to remember being at those games when I was a little kid to being the starting quarterback now,” says Russell. 

And his message to Columbus’ fans...

“This city, they flock to winners. So we're going to go out and give them everything we've got,” says Russell.