Dowagiac senior Carl Grant will sign a national letter of intent to play football for Ferris State University Wednesday.

Grant is part of coach Tony Annese’s third recruiting class. The Bulldogs were 8-3 last season and finished second in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s North Division with an 8-2 mark.

Ferris State finished the year with a four-game winning streak and just missed out on its first playoff appearance in 17 years.

The eight-win season was the first for the Bulldogs since 2006 and only the second in the last 16 years.

Grant, a three-year starter for the Chieftains, selected Ferris State over Grand Valley, Northern Michigan and Saginaw Valley State.

“The atmosphere, the coaches and the players, it all came together,” Grant said about committing to the Bulldogs. “It was a family atmosphere. I always wanted to play for a team like that.”

Grant will be red-shirted this coming season and he made that decision.

“I chose to red-shirt because the areas I want to study are both five-year programs,” he said. “I want to either be an athletic trainer or go into sports management and become an athletic director.”

Grant also sees an advantage to waiting a year before competing for a starting position.

“The first year I can do what I am supposed to do about getting stronger and faster,” he said. “Then after that, I can go ahead and start.”

Grant finished his senior year with 70 tackles, including 15 for a loss. He also had four sacks and four forced fumbles.

“I thought Carl’s play on the field over the last three years was deserving of a scholarship to Ferris State,” Dowagiac coach Mike Stanger said. “I would compare him to Dontrel Tucker a few years a go in that teams would game-plan to run away from him. He is fast and strong and was able to set the edge for us.”