NFL Draft 2018 Countdown: There’s More To Shaquem Griffin Than A Feel-Good Story

NFL Draft 2018 Countdown: There’s More To Shaquem Griffin Than A Feel-Good Story
11:14, 24 Apr 2018

Every so often, sport produces an inspiring, against-all-odds story that moistens the eye of anyone that reads it. Shaquem Griffin is such a case, just don’t say that to the University of Central Florida prospect hoping to get picked in the NFL Draft this weekend.

“I'm definitely not just a feel-good story,” said the 22-year-old linebacker, who has been without his left hand since he was four. “A feel-good story doesn't make it this far.”

Griffin, whose twin brother Shaquill was drafted last year by the Seattle Seahawks, suffered amniotic band syndrome while in the womb. It occurs when fibres become wrapped around limbs or extremities preventing their development.

When he was four, his mother Tangie heard what she thought was her young son crying from the usual pain from his damaged hand. On investigation, Shaquem was in the kitchen holding the biggest knife he could find, ready to remove the offending limb. She called a surgeon and scheduled an amputation the next day.

The missing hand didn’t hold him back as he excelled at baseball, athletics and football at his St Petersburg, Florida high school. Both brothers were given a scholarship to the University of Central Florida under head coach George O’Leary. But while Shaquill credits O’Leary with turning him into the NFL player that he now is, Shaquem didn’t flourish under the coach’s tutelage.

When O’Leary was replaced by Scott Frost in 2016, coinciding with a switch from safety to linebacker, however, Shaquem responded in style. Flying all over the field, he recorded 92 tackles, including 20 for loss, and 12.5 sacks, forcing two fumbles that season. He followed up in 2017 with an all-action performance as the Knights went undefeated over 13 games and were unlucky not to be voted to the College Football Championship.

After the college season ended, Shaquem’s fan club grew. At the Senior Bowl, a week of work with NFL coaches, culminating in an all-star game for graduating college players, he turned heads.

“He's a tough guy, he plays fast, he's good on special teams. So he's a fun kid to coach,” said Houston Texans head man Bill O'Brien, who worked with him during Senior Bowl week. “I've been impressed with him in the meeting room and on the practice field. He plays hard.”

Phil Savage, a former GM of the Cleveland Browns, who is now the executive director of the Senior Bowl, called him “one of the most amazing stories over the last 20-plus years that I've been evaluating players.”

Then came the NFL Combine, where professional scouts gather to put prospects through a battery of tests, including the 40-yard dash and 225lb bench press. The UCF star popped eyes with a 4.38-second 40 time, the fastest for a linebacker in 12 years and faster than the Combine times of NFL stars like Ezekiel Elliott and Julio Jones. With the help of a prosthetic left hand, he followed that up with 20 reps on the bench press, prompting impressed tweets from seasoned vets such as JJ Watt, Ryan Shazier, Von Miller and Russell Wilson.

Griffin isn’t ready for his story to end and he has some more inspiring to do yet – starting with joining those players on an NFL team of his own.

“Don't let anybody tell you what you can't do. A feel-good story is ‘he has one hand and plays football’. I worked my butt off so what they could say about me is, ‘He makes plays, he makes a difference and is a guy who can make turnovers. He's a guy who can contribute to us winning.’ I'm ready to get to rookie mini-camp and get my career started.”

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