Name: Stephen Griffin
Position: Safety
Ht/Wt/40: 6'3" / 187 lbs. / 4.5
Location: South Mecklenburg High School – Charlotte, NC (2015)
Offers: Clemson, Tennessee, Charlotte, Duke, Georgia Tech, Michigan, North Carolina, NC State, Old Dominion, Wake Forest
Rating: ★★★ .8444 (247 Composite)
Ranking: #807 NAT (247 Composite)
FILM
Michigan has a couple of legacy offers on the table in the 2015 class, one that’s already reeled in a commitment from Jon Runyan Jr., and the other looks like a real possibility from Tryone Wheatley Jr. The coaching staff also looked outside of the Wolverine family tree and offered former Clemson Tiger running back, Steve Griffin’s (1982-'86) son, Stephen Griffin. The younger Griffin plays mostly on the defensive side of the ball as a ball-hawking, rangy safety, but does play wildcat quarterback occasionally and displays running skills like his dad.
At Michigan, legacy offers usually carry a lot of weight, possibly more so than at other institutions. Clemson’s tradition isn’t on a Michigan-level, but they aren’t slouches. Griffin’s father played at Clemson just a season or two after the Tigers won a national title, which makes for good memories, but Stephen told me that just because his dad wore the orange and purple doesn’t mean he’s going to.
Clemson doesn’t have a better chance with me because of my dad. I’m going to go wherever I feel the most comfortable. My dad also wants me to go where the best fit for me is.
Griffin is another prospect recruited by Coach Manning, and the trend continued as he spoke about the newly minted cornerbacks coach.
My coach said I needed to call Coach Manning in his office. I got on the phone and Coach Manning and I talked for a little bit and that’s when they offered. I like him a lot. It’s really cool that he’s going to be one of the secondary coaches now too.
As you’d expect Griffin is well learned when it comes to Clemson history. As for the Wolverines, he admitted to not knowing much about the Maize and Blue.
Right now I don’t know too much about Michigan but I’m definitely interested. Overall I’m still open to all schools. I hope to take a visit to Michigan, maybe late this spring or during the summer. I don’t have any type of top order yet but after I finish the rest of the visits I have scheduled, I will.
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My conversation with Stephen was short but he made a good first impression on me. He’s a humble kid who’s just taking the process slowly to ensure his decision is correct. He’s probably a bit underrated at this point and that may be the case throughout his recruitment but some pretty solid programs have taken notice of his length, athleticism, and versatility.
Griffin said he was “definitely interested” in Michigan and if he decides to visit Ann Arbor late this spring or during the summer like he said he might, the Wolverines might slide into a first cut for him.
THE VIBE
Explanation: After speaking with recruits I try to convey a sense of how interested they are in Michigan, and now that I've been through a recruiting cycle I thought it time to debut a (-n extremely tentative, completely unscientific) metric for gauging that interest. Your thoughts/criticisms are welcome, but remember I'm not the guy whose job it is to be cute around here.* Here goes:
0 - Passing interest or none
1 - Let's see if he visits before we talk
2 - Among large (8-15) group under consideration
3 - Contender in a top 3-7
4 - Tentative lead or solidly in a top 2-3
5 - Trending blue.
Based on our limited communication I think there is some legitimate interest but I believe this relationship needs some TLC to blossom into anything serious.
* [That job belongs to Seth's & BiSB's and Center_Ice's respective inbound offspring--my job is to interview them when Class of 2032 offers are going out.]