Michael Griffin

Michael Devin Griffin (born January 4, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football for the Texas Longhorns.

He was also the District 25-5A Offensive MVP, as he rushed for 1,181 yards and 11 touchdowns on 132 carries (8.9 average) and caught six passes for 112 yards, including a score in 2002.

He also added 46 tackles, three pass deflections and a forced fumble on defense.

His top games of the 2002 season were in wins against Hays Consolidated (226 yards and three scores) and Austin (207 yards and three touchdowns).

Griffin earned All-District honors as a junior after rushing for 946 yards and 14 touchdowns on 126 attempts (7.5 avg).

He also had 11 receptions for 286 yards and four scores.

During his final two seasons at Bowie, Griffin rushed for 2,127 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground along with averaging 23.4 yards per catch.

In addition to football, Griffin also earned two letters in basketball as a guard and forward and three in track & field, competing in the sprints and mile relays.

He qualified for the Regional track and field meet after posting personal-bests of 10.64 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 22.10 seconds in the 200-meter dash in his senior year.

Griffin committed to play college football for the Texas Longhorns on December 13, 2002.

He chose the Longhorns over scholarship offers from Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

Regarded as a four-star recruit, Griffin was the 9th-ranked cornerback recruit in the nation and the 60th player overall according to Rivals.com in a 2003 class that was highlighted by Antonio Cromartie and Donte Whitner.

Griffin attended the University of Texas in Austin, where he started his college football career in 2003 as a true freshman for the Texas Longhorns football team.

In 50 career games at Texas, Griffin started 28 times.

He ranks eighth in school history with 368 tackles (234 of them solo).

He produced four sacks for a loss of 46 yards, 14.5 stops for losses of 78 yards and 13 quarterback pressures.

He recovered seven fumbles and caused nine others.

His eight blocked kicks set a school career record and rank second in NCAA Division I-A history.

He deflected 23 passes and intercepted eight others for 41 yards (5.1 average) in returns.

He also totaled 124 yards on six blocked punt returns (20.7 average).

On special teams, he posted 49 tackles.

Griffin was immediately thrust into the action in 2003, appearing in all 12 games at strong safety and starting at nickel back against Washington State and Texas Tech.

He finished seventh on the team with 65 tackles (51 of them solo), adding two sacks, five stops for losses and three pressures.

In addition, he recovered a fumble and caused three others while also batting down two passes.

In Griffin's sophomore season, 2004, he played behind Michael Huff at strong safety, earning his only start against Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl.

He produced 49 tackles (37 of them solo) with a sack, two stops behind the line of scrimmage and a pair of pressures.

He blocked two punts, picked off a pass and deflected three others.

He also caused and recovered a fumble.

With Michael Huff entrenched at strong safety, Texas' coaches shifted Griffin to free safety for his junior season in 2005.

A starter in 12 of 13 games, he was a second-team All-Big 12 Conference choice, as he led the team with 124 tackles (67 of them solo), including four stops for losses and five pressures.

He tied the school single-season record with four blocked kicks and had three interceptions with eight pass break-ups.

He recovered three fumbles and caused another.

Griffin intercepted a pass at the goal line in Texas' 41-38 Rose Bowl win against USC for the national championship.

As a senior in 2006, Griffin earned second-team All-American and first-team All-Big 12 accolades.

He again led the team from his free safety position, collecting a career-high 126 tackles (79 of them solo) with a sack, 3.5 stops for losses and three pressures.

He caused four fumbles, recovered two others and blocked two kicks.

He was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

A native of Austin, Texas, Griffin attended Bowie High School, where he was a two-year starter at running back and also started at defensive back as a senior.

He earned honorable mention All-State Class 5A honors on offense and was also named Academic All-District and All-Central Texas as a two-way performer that year.