Louisville Safety M.J. Griffin Making Difference in Increased Role
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Over the last two games, the defense for the Louisville football program has made tremendous progress. Their propensity to give up the big play, which had stymied their overall defensive production over the first five games of the year, is starting to trend in the opposite direction, and it's showing up in the win column.
Of course, getting standout performances from guys like Yasir Abdullah, YaYa Diaby, Monty Montgomery and others certainly helps this cause. But one contributing factor for this, outside of head coach Scott Satterfield announcing he would get more directly involved in the defensive game plan, could be the increased role given to safety M.J. Griffin in the Cardinals' wins over Virginia and Pitt.
"I think he’s just continuing to get better and better," Satterfield said. "One thing about him is that he practices really hard, he’s a great practice player. He goes hard, he's getting better and better and better. Just really understands the defense."
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound safety joined the program this past offseason as a transfer from Temple. While the coaches raved about him in spring ball and fall camp, he saw a very limited role over the first five games of year. He played in all five, but almost exclusively on special teams. He played just two defensive snaps against UCF, then 23 snaps against USF mainly in garbage time.
With Kenderick Duncan being forced to miss Louisville's game at Virginia, Griffin was thrust into a starting role at free safety for the Cardinals. Logging 53 snaps, he tallied four tackles and a third-quarter interception that he made following a good read in zone coverage and toe-tap sideline catch. Louisville would go on to win 34-17 for their first victory in conference play.
"He's one of those guys that when he got an opportunity, he made the most of it," Satterfield said." We tell those guys all the time, ‘when you do get your chance you better be ready, or it'll pass you by.' But he was ready."
After the bye week, Griffin was tabbed as the co-starter alongside Duncan for their matchup against Pitt. When kickoff came, it was Griffin who wound up getting the start, going on to log three tackles and an interception for back-to-back games with a pick. It was one of four turnovers that Louisville would force in that game, leading to a 24-10 win over the Panthers at home.
"The last two weeks, he’s made some great plays for us. He really is flying around," Satterfield said. "He's missed a couple of tackles here and there but he's not like a veteran. I love the way he's pulling his trigger. And then we mentioned earlier the two big interceptions are huge, huge interceptions for us. He's been able to make those kinds of plays, and he plays with a lot of energy. I think our guys feed off of that.”
Seven tackles in two games might not jump out, but advanced stats from Pro Football Focus show how much of an impact Griffin has had for the defense over the last two games. His 77.7 run defense grade against Virginia was third on the team, while his 73.2 coverage grade against Pitt was second.
In fact, for the season, Griffin's 69.7 coverage grade is second on the team amongst defenders with triple-digit snaps behind Abdullah; his 73.7 run defense grade is fourth overall behind Abdullah, Diaby and MoMo Sanogo; and his overall defensive grade of 71.9 is third amongst defenders with triple-digit snaps behind Abdullah and Diaby.
"He's done a great job," defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. "He's come in and worked, and worked and worked. He had an injury early on, and just came back and worked. I applaud him for his patience, and understanding that he had a guy that was in front of him at the time, has played a lot of football for us over his career as well. But he came and continued to work. When his number has been called, he's came in and played tremendous for us. He's a smart kid that loves the game, always doing extra work, always doing extra studying."
Louisville's defense will have their hands full when they host No. 10 Wake Forest this weekend. Sam Hartman is one of the best quarterback in the ACC, and the Demon Deacons have multiple options that they rely on either through the air or on the ground. If the Cardinals have a shot at pulling off the upset, they'll need another impactful performance from Griffin and the rest of the defense.
"Hopefully we can continue that trend this weekend with making more big plays, because that helps our defense out and helps us as a team," Brown said. "We're making plays in the secondary and not giving up big plays. When we don't give up big plays, it's hard for teams to score against us. It's exciting to see, and excited to see you guys making plays and not giving up big plays."
Kickoff between the Cardinals and Demon Deacons is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3:30 p.m. EST. at Cardinal Stadium.
(Photo of M.J. Griffin: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)
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