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Saban would turn to Grant and ask him if he had any problems, and Grant would just shake his head and then run back out into the next play.
This happened throughout last season for Alabama as Grant fought his way through a sports hernia from the beginning of the year to the end.
"I just lost focus as a person, and with that injury, it kind of brought me down," said Grant, a junior. "But my spirits are back high, and I'm ready to go out and play again."
Through the first three games, Grant enjoyed a dream start.
Against Western Carolina, on the first play from scrimmage, Grant scored on a 47-yard touchdown run. Then the following week against Vanderbilt, Grant rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
After his 96-yard performance against Arkansas in the third game, Grant stood second in the SEC with 134.3 rushing yards a game.
But the pain in Grant's mid-section increased, and as it did, his numbers went down. During his last eight games, Grant averaged 61 yards a game. He did not play against Auburn or in the Independence Bowl against Colorado. He relied on speed and agility, and the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Grant could use neither.
"(The pain) kind of started before the season because I was kind of feeling it," Grant said. "But I could push through it, and then it was like ... no more."
During the off-season, Grant discovered he suffered from a sports hernia.
Grant had surgery, and in the Tide's spring workouts, he returned to the field looking more like the running back who cut through holes and blasted toward the end zone.
This was obvious in Alabama's A-Day Game, in which Grant caught a swing pass on the outside from quarterback John Parker Wilson, then beat cornerback Javier Arenas and safeties Rashad Johnson and Justin Woodall in a 75-yard race down the sideline to the end zone.
"That was when I felt good about it," Grant said with a smile.
After his injury-plagued season, Grant realized that he needed pace himself and not go for the most physical route on each run. He also added about 10 pounds of muscle. This year, when he feels pain, he will know when to stop.
"You learn from your experience and you try to not hold anything back," Grant said. "But also at the same time, you have to listen to your body and have a feel for that."
Grant's teammates notice a difference as well. They see the new Terry Grant looking a lot like the old Terry Grant.
"His (speed) burst is there," Tide running back Glen Coffee said. "He looks like the Terry that was here at the beginning of the season last year."
Also, the new offense that first-year offensive coordinator Jim McElwain has brought to Alabama should exploit some of Grant's pass-catching skills. McElwain likes using running backs as receivers, hoping to create mismatches with slower linebackers.
But whether Grant will play as Alabama's feature back remains to be seen. Alabama can go three or four players deep at running back with Coffee, Roy Upchurch and freshman Mark Ingram.
This could present a logjam at the position when the season starts.
"It is a motivation to me," Grant said. "When I get hurt you see what you missed and try to come back, and it's kind of like, you want to be there so bad that it motivates yourself to get going."
Alabama vs. Clemson in Atlanta
Aug. 30, 7 p.m., WAAY-31
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