Louisville's M.J. Griffin Grateful to Return to Action Following Injury

The safety for the Cardinals suffered a season-ending injury during last year's fall camp.

Sep 24, 2022; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals safety M.J. Griffin (26) leads the team to the field before the first quarter against the South Florida Bulls at Cardinal Stadium. / Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - An inevitability with football at any level is that injuries of varying degrees are bound to strike. The upcoming 2024 season for Louisville football program might be still two-plus weeks away, but the injury big has already bitten a few players during fall camp.

Lance Robinson is out for the season after suffering an injury in the very first practice session. Guys like Jimmy Calloway, Keyjuan Brown and Thor Griffith also saw limited time during the open practices of camp after getting banged up.

This time last year, Louisville was dealt a major injury-related blow in fall camp as they were preparing for year one under new head coach Jeff Brohm. Safety M.J. Griffin suffered a left knee early in camp, and was subsequently forced to miss the Cardinals' entire 2023 season.

But fast forward to the present day, Griffin is back on the practice fields for fall camp, gearing up for what will be his final season in college. After having not played in a game since the 2022 season, the redshirt senior is ready to return, and is grateful that he is back out practicing at full speed.

"Man, it's a blessing," Griffin said Wednesday. "It feels amazing being back out there after a year. It was tiring sitting down and watching everybody do what they do. But now, it's my turn to help my teammates do what we all got to do."

Getting the 6-foot-1, 200-pound free safety back for 2024 gives the Louisville secondary a major boost on the back end, as he played a key role in Louisville's defensive turnaround during the 2022 season and final year under then-head coach Scott Satterfield.

Coming over as a transfer from Temple during the offseason prior, Griffin played almost exclusively on special teams over the first five games. However, he was elevated to starting free safety when regular starter Kenderick Duncan was injured.

Griffin held this spot for the remainder of that season, and his elevation to starter played a big role in Louisville significantly cutting down the amount of big plays they were giving up. The Cardinals averaged 210.4 passing yards allowed per game before Griffin cracked the starting rotation, and averaged 188.6 afterwards.

Despite seeing meaningful defensive playing time in only eight of the 13 games that year, the Ypsilanti, Mich. native finished seventh on the team in tackles with 45, while also logging a pair of interceptions and a forced fumble in the process.

While there was a bit of an acclimation period for Griffin after being away from the field for so long, and he might not have the in-game experience with the defensive system that some of Louisville's returning veterans do, the coaching staff is excited to get a weapon like Griffin back at their disposal.

"What sticks out, first off, he makes plays," defensive coordinator and safeties coach Ron English said. "He plays hard, he strains. He's got great attitude. He wants to be really good, and I can coach him as hard as I want to coach him. It's just good to have that. And like I mentioned before, before he got hurt, I thought he would be best guy in the secondary."

Of course, there are certain hurdles you have to clear in order to recover from a season-ending injury. Naturally, there's the physical hurdle, where you get back into the swing of things when it comes to your physique and conditioning.

But there's also the mental hurdle. Being able to not think about the possibility of getting re-injured, getting adjusted to the defensive system on the field after learning it on the sideline for so long, and not dwelling too much when you make a mistake in some your first reps back.

While English says it's "to be determined" if Griffin has cleared the mental hurdle - and that won't be fully answered until the Cardinals kick off their season vs. Austin Peay on Saturday, Aug. 31 - Griffin himself is fully confident that he will clear that hurdle with ease.

"At first, it was hard. It was very hard," Griffin said. "You're sitting out, you're not really doing much but watching and learning the playbook. I feel like my mentals got a lot stronger since then."

Even the physical hurdle is still somewhat present. While Griffin has been actively running with the ones during fall camp and says that he feels "very powerful" after his surgery, he won't say that he is '100 percent' healthy yet - but he is close to it.

But, as the adage goes, time heals all wounds. That, and continuing to keep strengthening his lower body.

"It's just time," Griffin said when asked what it will take for him to truly feel 100 percent healthy. "I feel like with an injury like this, it just takes time to heal. I have to work out constantly, too, to strengthen my legs."

(Photo of M.J. Griffin: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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