New Tampa Childhood Teammates Are University Of Miami Walk-Ons

By Matt Wiley

Young football players dream of playing in college for a chance to make it to the NFL. While it’s common for friends to play on the same team in recreational leagues and in high school, it’s not nearly as likely that those same two friends will walk on to the same college team — but that actually is the case for two New Tampa athletes who both have walked on to the University of Miami football team.

Jake Romp and Heath Grady, both Tampa Palms residents, grew up playing competitive soccer together in the Blackwatch program and then football together on the New Tampa Sharks and Patriots Pop Warner football programs.

Years later, the two began attending Tampa Catholic High (TCH, located off N. Rome Ave. in Tampa) in 2011 and played together on the school’s junior varsity football team, Romp as a slot receiver and Grady as the team’s punter and kicker. 

After one year, Heath transferred to Freedom High (located off Commerce Park Blvd. in Tampa Palms), where he continued punting and kicking for the Patriots’ varsity football team through his senior year. Grady wrapped his high school career 10-16 in field goals, including one from 49 yards out, and 18-23 in PATs (points after touchdown).

Romp remained at TCH, where he joined the varsity football team his sophomore year. During his three varsity seasons, Romp racked up 265 total receiving yards with 31 catches and four touchdowns. Romp averaged 14.7 receiving yards per game in his 18 games played. He also earned the prestigious 2014 “Heart of Champions” $1,000 scholarship, which only is presented to one male and one female student-athlete in each of the county’s 33 private and public high schools. 

Romp and Grady played together once again on December 7, 2014, during the Hillsborough County Senior All-Star Football Game, representing East Hillsborough. In a few months, they’ll begin working out and practicing together again at the collegiate level for the Division 1 University of Miami (U-M) Hurricanes, of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“Miami saw something (in me) and offered me a preferred walk-on,” Grady explains, adding that he also received offers from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst (also a Division 1 school in the Mid-American Conference), as well the Division 1 University of Missouri in Columbia (part of the Southeastern Conference). “I wanted to stay in Florida. It’s a little cold at UMass.

Grady says his kicking could play a major role in boosting UM’s defense. 

As for playing on the same college team as his lifelong friend, “It’s pretty crazy. We’ve known each other forever. It’s awesome that I’ll have someone that I know there.”

Grady says he thinks playing for Freedom was a big key to his being offered the walk-on at UM. 

“Transferring to public school definitely got me more exposure and playing time (than I was getting at TCH),” he says. 

Romp says that he also is excited about the chance to play as a Hurricane.

“It’s a blessing,” Romp says. “Obviously, it’s a huge privilege to play at such a prestigious school.” U-M has won five national football championships, and the average SAT score of this past year’s incoming freshmen was 1331, according to statistics from the college’s website. Miami also was named number 48 on U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 annual list of “Best Colleges.”

Romp says that he plans on bringing new energy to UM’s offense, as well as a positive attitude.

“That just me,” Romp explains. “I’m a leader on the field. I plan on showing people that I may not be on scholarship, but I’m there to play hard.”

Romp also says that he never expected that he’d be playing on the same team as someone he knew from New Tampa, let alone someone he grew up with.

“It’s a cool feeling,” he explains. “I never would have imagined it.”