He was signed by the NFL's Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2005, and also played for the CFL's Calgary Stampeders in 2009.

[1] The Mater Dei Monarchs high school football team won three California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championships while he was a member.

As a junior in 1998, he rushed for more than 1,600 yards with twenty-one touchdowns on offense, and made 130 tackles, six forced fumbles and three interceptions on defense.

Grootegoed received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Southern California, where he was a four-year starter for coach Pete Carroll's USC Trojans football team from 2000 to 2004.

On April 26, 2005, Grootegoed was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the 2005 NFL draft, eventually released to their practice squad, and was later picked up by the Detroit Lions.