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The transfer portal takes, and the transfer portal gives – rather – sends Houston Griffith back to Notre Dame. Growing senior security reportedly removed his name from the database less than three weeks after his entry, strengthening the Irish on two levels of both question and potential in 2021.
Yahoo’s Pete Thamel first announced Griffith’s new intentions, thanking newly hired defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly for persuading Griffith to try his hand at the starting position alongside future junior Kyle Hamilton.
In revisiting what this space said when Griffith entered the transfer portal to begin 2021, points of uncertainty remain.
Griffith’s Irish career has seen him bounce back between nickel back, cornerback and safety, but in 2020 he seemed to finally settle down to safety, the position that earned him four star status. in its recruitment. He’s made 14 tackles this season, starting with two games and playing in all 12. His debut (South Florida, State of Florida) came as Notre Dame was working through a coronavirus outbreak, albeit his job most notable may have been in the second half at North Carolina after the safety of sophomore Kyle Hamilton was sent off.
Griffith’s inconsistent development in safety led Shaun Crawford to move from cornerback to preseason practices and as the season wore on, DJ Brown saw more playing time than Griffith, including at this Tobacco Road moment, the two headed for a spring competition to start alongside Hamilton.
“Instead, it seems like Brown’s role to lose with four-star rookie Khari Gee suddenly looking for a good chance to contribute some clichés.”
While the total sales pitch to bring Griffith back into the fold will color intrigue this spring and into the preseason, Brown would still appear to have pole position in this race to start alongside an inevitable preseason All- American. He took 243 defensive shots in 2020, up from 215 for Griffith, including Brown taking 23 shots in that North Carolina game instead of Hamilton. On the other hand, Griffith made 14 tackles in 2020, compared to eight for Brown.
Statistical comparisons can come and go for longer than a January recap deserves. Griffith made more tackles in part because he gave up seven catches on eight targets, while Brown broke two passes (Griffith: 0).
In other words, the competition to become Hamilton’s running mate will be one to watch this spring, especially without anyone else. Rising sophomore cornerback Ramon Henderson could come to safety, rising junior Litchfield Ajavon has yet to take a defensive photo, his classmate KJ Wallace has had even less impact, and New freshmen Gee and Justin Walters should quickly impress Freeman to be part of the conversation.
Maybe that was Griffith’s sales pitch: either he’s starting out or he’s the main replacement for Brown and Hamilton.
Another of the running grades of 2020 – My Depth Chart Spreadsheet includes years of running grades on each player. No player on the 2020 depth card has dedicated more cells to it than Houston Griffith.
Just a nut #Our Lady couldn’t crack, so to speak.– Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) January 14, 2021
Even that additional role would be a step forward for Griffith. A sample of these notes:
– A range of concerns about him at the cornerback leading up to 2019.
– Noting that former Irish defensive coordinator Clark Lea has publicly stated that it is not productive for him to berate Griffith for being beaten deeply, indicating that this has happened enough to be considered a training trend .
– Included in this trend are separate moments of Chase Claypool, Kevin Austin, Joe Wilkins, Isaiah Robertson and Chris Finke all beating Griffith.
– Repeated thoughts that Griffith’s difficulties may be due to the bad position at the cornerback. It should be a security.
– Re: the truncated spring of 2020, “His performance in one spring practice was impressive, a missed opportunity to build on that.”
And that’s just a sample; the sheer number of these notes makes it clear that Griffith has been at or near the top of conversations about Notre Dame’s potential. Now another defensive coordinator will have a chance to turn that into reality.
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