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"Did you see we just got a commit? I can grab it if you're too busy playing Last of Us." That Mark Sandritter, he just gets me.
According to our friend Britton Ransford over at WazzuWatch, the Cougs and Mike Leach have landed talented defensive back Kevin Griffin from De La Salle HS in Concord, CA.
Commit: #Wazzu has picked up a commitment from Concord (Calif.) De La Salle CB Kevin Griffin -- ($) http://t.co/8hODPuDoWH #GoCougs
— Britton Ransford (@bkransford) June 26, 2013
Griffin is a Pete Carroll corner checking it at 6'1 and 180 pounds. His only other offer was from Montana, but it's still pretty early on in the recruiting process. I expect him to get at least one more BCS offer before it's all said and done. Last month, he impressed at Nike's Oakland Football Training Camp.
"Another big, physical cornerback with plenty of speed (48-second 400 meter track guy), Griffin is not only tough at the line of scrimmage but when the ball is in the air, he closes extremely quickly and can transition out of his backpedal and into his break extremely quickly. Currently his offers are Washington State and Montana but Griffin is a BCS level recruit."
The kid is a stout tackler, which is pretty rare from a high school corner. He likes to get his hands on the receiver and jam him at the line. Sorta reminds me of Brandon Browner with his physicality (because I can't remember the last physical corner WSU had). I think his speed is a little tough to see in the video, but he isn't slow by any means. He doesn't take unnecessary risks by going for interceptions and instead focuses on locking down his man.
Mike Breske's defense, in a perfect world, would have both corners on an island. The corners currently on the roster aren't really made for that sort of defense; Griffin is more suitable in that regard. If he had top end elite speed, he'd be the perfect corner, but he'd also probably be a 5-star prospect.
I really like this kid, as he always seems to be in the correct place (rather than right place, right time). I'll probably always favor physical corners over finesse ones that get overrated for number of interceptions (hey there, DeAngelo Hall!), and Griffin is a great fit for what Breske is trying to do on defense. Hit someone in the mouth, then do it again for good measure.
Welcome to WSU, Kevin, and Go Cougs.
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