UCF One-Handed Linebacker Shaquem Griffin Has Gone From Not Being Invited To The NFL Combine To a 4th Round Pick
Incredible. In just a few days Shaquem Griffin went from maybe a fringe late rounder to a house hold name. House hold might be a stretch, but for those that watch football, Shaq Griffin is now clearly on their radar. In case you’re not familiar with his story, Griffin was born with amniotic band syndrome which means his left hand’s fingers were not fully developed as a kid. It caused him so much pain anytime he banged his hand that at age 4 his mom caught him in the kitchen with a knife trying to amputate his own fingers. Immediately after that night he got a proper amputation, but that did not stop him from playing sports obviously. He went to UCF along with his brother Shaquill who is now on the Seahawks.
He had to battle hard just to rise from the bottom of the depth charts, but when he finally got his shot he shined. During his junior season after switching from defensive back to linebacker, Griffin tallied 92 tackles and 11.5 sacks, winning the AAC Defensive Player of the Year. He followed that season up with another good one in 2017 with 74 tackles and seven sacks. He didn’t even get an NFL Combine invite until after the Senior Bowl for whatever stupid reason. As you saw this weekend, he dominated the headlines and saw his stock rise higher than any other players. Rapoport says he’s gone from maybe a special teams player to now an off-the-ball linebacker who you can use all over the field. What a story. We saw the 40 time which was remarkable (fastest ever for a LB) and the 20 bench press reps of 225 which is just insanity with one fucking hand, but watching him drop back into defense and intercept passes is something else.
Now you might say those are soft passes he’s catching, they won’t be like that during real game time. You are obviously correct, unless Nathan Peterman is throwing, but a lot of linebackers were dropping even those passes. This kid is an inspiration to all and I love the one quote he constantly uses
“Instead of me walking through the door, I just knocked the whole door down”
Impossible not to root for this guy wherever he goes, even Seattle…
I do wonder how Griffin fared in the staring contest with Pete.