Former Lahser Knight Keeps NFL Dream Despite Challenges

Lahser High School alumnus Greg Raspberry's path to stardom in the National Football League may have taken a detour through West Bloomfield Schools, but he's a better player for it.

Raspberry, 24, recently finished his first year as seventh grade boys basketball team head coach (record: 12-1) after working in the fall as an assistant coach on the varsity football team as well as head coach of the Lakers' freshman football team (record: 8-1). He's done it with a smile on his face, although he'd be the first to say that he'd prefer to be on the field. 

Raspberry hasn't played much since the 2011 NFL lockout cut short a chance to showcase his talents at an organized workout session in front of NFL scouts. However, healthy and motivated to reach his NFL potential, he's been working out almost every day since December at the Total Sports Complex in Novi, and is ready to perform at another planned workout in front of NFL scouts in two weeks.

"There's no question, I'm a better player than I was when I was in high school because of my personal experience coaching. I see the game from a different perspective — the game used to be too fast for me, but now I'm too fast for the game," Raspberry said.

I honestly feel like this is it — it's going to work out now. There's not a thought in my head about failure."

Lahser star meets college mentor

Knights fans may find it difficult to believe that Raspberry could be better than he was when he was in high school. Hailing from Pontiac, Raspberry graduated in 2005 holding records in receiving yards and catches as a wide receiver. Raspberry was all-league in his senior season, and the Knights reached the playoffs with a 9-1 record, but he broke his toe in the first round of the playoffs, and the Knights subsequently fell in the second.

His performance earned him a scholarship to play football at Northern Michigan, where new head coach Doug Sams had impressed him on recruiting trips with a personalized focus that Raspberry tried to impart upon his Lakers and Vikings last season.

"He really took an interest in me academically and personally, and he was really the only coach who had done that for me to that point," Raspberry said. "He continue to keep in touch. I called him after (the WBHS freshmen football team) had a big win against Lake Orion, and it meant a lot to be able to tell about why it was important — the history, the rivalry, and so forth."

Raspberry enjoyed life at NMU, but Sams was fired after his freshmen season (his three-year record was 13-29) and Raspberry decided to leave as well. He settled at Div. 3 Tiffin (OH) in 2008, where he was able reach the captaincy in his junior and senior seasons. Raspberry even scored three touchdowns in a 2008 victory against NMU, which he said gave him a measure of revenge.

Raspberry graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor's degree in sports management, as well as a young son, which he had with his high school sweetheart at Tiffin.

Difficult position creates a new path

Raspberry never expected to hear his name called in the 2009 NFL Draft, but what happened next surprised him even more. After several teams expressed interest in signing Raspberry as a free agent by asking him for video highlights from his time at Tiffin, he said that his agent at the time split with money Raspberry had paid, as well as his collection of video highlights.

Additionally Raspberry said, the Dragons' coaching staff were fired after the team lost every game in his senior season, and the new guard weren't allowed to keep video highlights that the staff had taken with them.

"It was almost like I was a legend — people said that I was good, but I wasn't able to prove it on video," Raspberry said. "It was really difficult to believe at first. I learned a lot about the way the business I can be, sometimes."

After signing anew with Saginaw-based BKF Sports agent Manvel Trice, who counts six NFL players as clients ("he's the best," Raspberry said) the newer, more-mature version of Raspberry began to work out four times every week with Total Sports Performance Center director Jim Kielbaso, who currently counts Detroit Lions stars Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch as clients. Raspberry impressed Kielbaso with his combination of intelligence and athleticism.

"I see some guys, once they go through a failure process for the first time, they give up and they’re done forever. I think Greg kinda took a step back, realized, OK, this happens to people. But, I think he's a great route runner and he's got great hands. He can make it to the next level," Kielbaso said.

Raspberry was able to arrange a promising organized workout session with NFL scouts at the University of Toledo in March 2011, but just days before he was scheduled, the NFL lockout was announced. Scouts and other team representatives were completely barred from contacting players until it was later resolved that July.

"At the time, I thought that all the stuff I had put my body through with Jim was wasted. I had all this momentum and it came crashing down on my shoulders that day. It was the first time I really thought about quitting," Raspberry said.

Dreams of NFL stardom

Raspberry didn't quit. His agent secured him some semi-professional action in Florida, where he dominated against lesser competition. He applied and was given his position in the West Bloomfield School District, which he said has led to a possible interest in eventually becoming a high school athletic director. 

"He's a very intelligent player and by speaking with him, I know that he's good at watching game film, too. I think the time away from the game and coaching has made him more patient, but it's also a hurdle for him to overcome because he's not going to break a world record being tested," Kielbaso said.

Raspberry and Kielbaso have continued to work together three times every week since last December, and on March 15, Total Sports will host an organized workout session featuring 15 players similar to Raspberry, as well as NFL and Canadian Football League scouts. 

Raspberry dreams of lining up for his hometown Lions alongside all-pro Calvin Johnson, and he's confident that only after everything he has been through, will he get there.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he smiled.