Michigan Offers Stephen Griffin
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.]
February 26th, 2014 at 8:22 AM ^
February 26th, 2014 at 8:23 AM ^
Agree. Seems like a long shot given his location and family history @ Clemson.
February 26th, 2014 at 8:28 AM ^
I saw this comment before asking. The fact that it was underlined and bolded was a slight give-away, but I wasn't sure that a "1" was what Griffin came in at.
One piece of feedback to Brandon is that the last rating, Blue should be capitalized imo.
/respect
February 26th, 2014 at 8:46 AM ^
I like me some tall safeties. Great update, per the usual. Thanks BB.
February 26th, 2014 at 9:18 AM ^
Brandon -
Years ago Brian developed a system that essentially achieves your "interest rankings" that you may want to appropriate (including the wonderfully-named Nefarious Eduardo):
These guys were on the MGoRecruiting Board, and served the function that your numerical rankings did. And dang it, they were cute. Much cuter than arabic numerals.
A bit more detail (I think this all predated your involvement on the MGoStaff):
Legend:
| Icon | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Sad Josh | The genre of player with unrequited interest in Michigan. Unlikely to receive offers; most will eventually fade off the list and go to Duke or Michigan State or something. |
|
|
Nefarious Eduardo | Player is a longshot. Either they've declared someone else a leader publicly or popular opinion holds that they're likely to go to another school. |
|
|
Data | Either no opinion or Michigan is one of a fairly even group of chasing schools. Players in this category maintain no leader or change their leader frequently. The default category for players that we don't know much about yet. |
|
|
Happy Teeth | Players who have Michigan in a small leading group or have Michigan as a tenuous favorite. Should be regarded as a good shot, not a slam dunk. |
|
|
Mr. Blue | Player is either a verbal or is expected to be one sooner or later. Players with this designation are 65%+ to be Michigan commits. |
February 26th, 2014 at 9:42 AM ^
February 26th, 2014 at 9:45 AM ^
most will eventually fade off the list and go to Duke or Michigan State or something.
All those Sad Josh's worked out pretty good for MSU & Duke this year...
I still don't understand how Duke was better at football than us this year...
/now I'm a Sad Josh
/Sad Mike
February 26th, 2014 at 9:46 AM ^
This was discussed a bit in the thread where Brandon introduced his informal rankings yesterday. http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/bbrown-informal-rating-scales
February 26th, 2014 at 10:35 AM ^
But if the concern is that the names are too cute for 16-17 year-olds, how about if we just renamed Sad Josh "Not Offered" and renamed Nefarious Eduardo "Behind" (as in we've got some catching up to do)? And maybe make the icon-formerly-known-as-Josh a different smiley face, like one looking hopeful or this 
. It's hard to believe that anyone would get too worked up about the balance of the names and icons. And the icons were fun and gave you a quick idea of where a recruitment stood without the illusory precision of a numerical system.
Just one reader's thoughts... .
Legend:
| Icon | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Not Offered | The genre of player with unrequited interest in Michigan. Unlikely to receive offers; most will eventually fade off the list and go to Duke or Michigan State or something. |
|
|
Behind | Player is a longshot. Either they've declared someone else a leader publicly or popular opinion holds that they're likely to go to another school. |
|
|
Data | Either no opinion or Michigan is one of a fairly even group of chasing schools. Players in this category maintain no leader or change their leader frequently. The default category for players that we don't know much about yet. |
|
|
Happy Teeth | Players who have Michigan in a small leading group or have Michigan as a tenuous favorite. Should be regarded as a good shot, not a slam dunk. |
|
|
Mr. Blue | Player is either a verbal or is expected to be one sooner or later. Players with this designation are 65%+ to be Michigan commits. |
February 26th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
February 26th, 2014 at 10:02 AM ^
eHarmony, Match.com. J-Date, Christian Mingle and other online dating services.
- 0 - Serving me with restraining order
- 1 - Phone number has only six digits
- 2 - Phone number starts with "555"
- 3 - Phone number no longer in service
- 4 - Chris Hansen answered call; police at my door
- 5 - Answered call; hung up after noticing number on Caller ID
- 6 - Will meet in public place for non-alcoholic beverage
- 7 - Will contact via Skype or Google Chat
- 8 - Sounds eerily like voice from 1-900-ORGASMO
- 9 - Will be over in half an hour; needs to change into "something more comfortable"
- 10 - Cue Paradise By The Dashboard Light
February 26th, 2014 at 10:12 AM ^
I like the new number system for interest. The old icons were great, but a 1-5 scale works just as well.
Just because it's new doesn't mean it's scary or unusable.
February 26th, 2014 at 10:17 AM ^
you should go watch this kid play. He's pretty good. I'd love to see him at Michigan. Tons of potential.
February 26th, 2014 at 10:34 AM ^
For the typical great analysis and candid conclusion.
I prefer a 6'3" back (offense or defense) to the smaller guys so I obviously like the potential, but it really seems like a long shot.
Go Blue!
The old legend was a bit of laughs.
February 26th, 2014 at 10:41 AM ^
When did we start recruiting safeties?
February 26th, 2014 at 8:14 PM ^
At some point it would be great to get a percentage prediction as to the likelihood for a commitment. A number 4 could range from a 20% to a 90% chance that a recruit will commit. I know any such prediction would be unreliable, but your insight would be great. Thank you.
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