In football, he was named the #6 Texas high school prospect in the class of 1990 by the Austin American-Statesman, and the #2 quarterback overall.

[4][5] Later against Texas Tech, Granger escaped a sack on a third-and-eight at the Raiders' 42-yard line and hit Schorp with a first-down pass that set up another Venetoulias game-winning field goal as time expired.

He was only 21 when he broke into the majors with the Royals in September of that same year after only 7 impressive starts at single-A Eugene in which he struck out 56 batters in only 36 innings.

Although he had dominated at the minor league level, it was clear that he needed some finesse to complement his impressive velocity, and the Royals kept him at AA Wichita in 1995.

Granger was moved to the bullpen the following season and made a smooth transition, compiling an impressive 2.34 ERA for the AAA Omaha Royals.