Prep phenom Robert Griffin will run the hurdles this morning at Tom Black Track in the AAU Junior Olympics and then huddle with members of the Tennessee coaching staff to see if playing football for the Vols is an option for him in 2008.
When you’re an athlete — and a student — the caliber of Griffin, a rising senior at Copperas Cove in Texas, you have lots of options.
Not only is Griffin among the best prep track and field athletes in the nation, he’s considered one of the top 10 dual-threat quarterbacks in the country.
And by the way, he’s not half-bad in the classroom, either.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Griffin, who takes all college preparatory courses, carries a 4.6 GPA.
Uncanny maturity for a 17-year-old is the first thing that pops to mind when you talk to Griffin.
“I don’t like to consider myself as a football player or track athlete. I just want people to see me as a good person,” said Griffin.
Griffin already had received double-digit scholarship offers to play football and run track at several schools.
“I’ve gotten about 20 offers so far. I want to go to a school that has a good law school and will let me play quarterback and run track.”
In a high school meet last May in Austin, Texas, Griffin broke the Class 4-A state record in the 110 high hurdles (13.55) and almost eclipsed the national record in the 300 hurdles. Griffin ran 35.33 in the 300 hurdles, just missing out on the national mark of 35.32 set in 1985.
Griffin also was named the Gatorade Texas Boys’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year. He holds the state records in the 110 and 300 hurdles.
Griffin is coached by his father, Robert Griffin Jr., who leads the Five Hills Track Club.
Coach Griffin said his son’s best event is the open 400
“Robert anchored a team that ran 3:06 in the 4x400 in a meet in New Mexico. He ran 46.2 for his split in that race. He also ran a 45.7 in the 400 at an all-state meet.”
On the football field, Griffin passed for 2,000 yards, 25 touchdowns and ran for more than 800 as he led Copperas Cove to the state Class 4-A championship game last season where the Bulldawgs lost 40-28 to Alamo Heights out of San Antonio.
The elder Griffin said he’s looking for his son to break the AAU record in the 400 hurdles preliminaries at 10 this morning and then meet with the Tennessee football coaches this afternoon.
“I think he’s down to Stanford, LSU, Houston and Baylor, but he likes Tennessee. Tennessee is the one wild-card (in the recruiting process). We want to find out if they’re serious about him.”
Griffin also runs in the 110 prelims Tuesday, with finals in the hurdles set for Wednesday (300) and Thursday (110).
“If he gets the records in the preliminaries, we’re looking to push it down even more in the finals,” said coach Griffin.
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Comments » 8
cgbtn writes:
I'm used to a 4-point grading scale. A 4.6 average sounds awfully good, unless it's on a scale of 10.
andefromtn#212139 writes:
When you make an A in an advance placement class you receive 5 points instead of 4. The grade is weighted because you are doing work harder than your normal grade. During your senior year, you are doing college freshman work and at the end of that year you take a test. Pass the test and you receive credit on the college level for that subject.
Much will depend on what this young man wants to major in. A young person of this quality looks at everything and won't be caught up in the normal trappings or glitter of it. He would be a great catch for the 2008 class both as an athlete and a student.
McIntireIMP writes:
lol with cgbtn. This is a student that UT desparately needs. However, I don't think he'll fit in too well with the current group, he's too mature. If he comes to Tenn, he'll be the most liked QB since Peyton and may even reach Peyton's level if he performs on the field.
Colliervol writes:
Well, I can guarantee one thing for his track aspirations. If he comes to Knoxville, he will have one of the best sprint coaches in the country. Coach Eliott is outstanding.
txsvol#372416 writes:
This guy is a good prospect, from the video of the 4A State Championship game that I watched parts of. BTW, the 4A State Champion Alamo Heights Mules had a very good QB, with the fantastic name of Giovanni Vizza, who committed to Todd Dodge and North Texas, at a time when Todd's son, Riley, a junior at Southlake Carroll, had said that he was going to Texas. But, Riley Dodge since then has decided to play for his Dad. Look for Vizza to either put up big numbers as a freshman this year, and beat out Riley in 2008, or become available for transfer. A couple of Alamo Heights offensive linemen are huge! Go Vols! SAVol
txsvol#372416 writes:
CV, if his best event is 400 meters, then isn't he considered a middle distance runner? If he's a hurdler, who also plays football, and has the talent to become All-American in both? Shades of Richmond Flowers, Jr. Go Vols! SAVol
jcherrie#219531 writes:
I heard Joe Theismann talk about track athletes a while back. He indicated that it doesn't always translate to football. I'll translate Joe Willie Gault - good Leonard Scott - bad!
GreerVol22 writes:
Sounds like a really smart guy and LSU is prime for the pickin. Its close to home, and with a law degree and some luck, he will be drafted by the Saints, later become mayor and and wind up owning the French Quarter. We have about as much chance of holding on to this guy as Adams does of catching crabs.
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