Meet Shaquem Griffin, linebacker for the University of Central Florida and current breakout star at the NFL combine in Indianapolis, IN. Griffin had his left hand amputated when he was four-years-old, but that didn’t stop the St. Petersburg native from benching 225 pounds 20 times with a prosthetic hand on Saturday:
Shaquem Griffin just benched TWENTY REPS at 225 lbs. with a prosthetic hand. (via @thecheckdown) pic.twitter.com/OKse67VQ8b
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 3, 2018
Then today he went out and ran the fastest 40-yard-dash time for a linebacker in 15 years:
WOW. ???@ShaquemGriffin just ran a 4.38u 40-yard dash!
The fastest LB at the #NFLCombine since 2003.
?: @Nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/TKHXVZri4n
— NFL (@NFL) March 4, 2018
Un. Freaking. Believable:
They said he couldn’t play football without a hand. He played. They said he couldn’t play big time college football. He did. They said he probably shouldn’t be invited to the combine. He was. Shaquem Griffin just ran the fastest 40 for a linebacker in 15 years. pic.twitter.com/Wf0cttuNXz
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 4, 2018
Keep in mind, he was a late addition to the combine:
Shaquem Griffin with an unofficial 4.38 40-yard dash! And he wasn’t gonna be invited to the Combine a month ago… ha!
— Todd McShay (@McShay13) March 4, 2018
After shocking the scouts, Griffin wished his mother a happy birthday, of course:
YES! Shaquem Griffin just ran a 4.38 40-yard dash. Fastest 40-yard dash by a LB since 2003. "Happy birthday, Mama," he says on the way out. Wow. Wow. Wow. @nflnetwork @UCF_Football @CFD22 @gmfb @ShaquillG @MoveTheSticks @richeisen @Shaquemgriffin
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) March 4, 2018
Griffin should be drafted on the second day of the draft in the 2nd or 3rd round:
Shaquem Griffin at 4.38 is going to push him squarely in Day 2 talks.
— Jonah Tuls (@JonahTulsNFL) March 4, 2018
This:
UCF LB Shaquem Griffin measured in at 6'0, 227 pounds, he has one hand and did a whopping 20 reps of 225 lbs yesterday and followed that up today with a scary 4.38 40 yard dash. It’s impossible not to root for this man. @Shaquemgriffin
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) March 4, 2018
And we look forward to watching him play this fall on Sundays:
Shaquem Griffin: “I’ll do anything a team wants me to do. Linebacker, defensive back, edge rusher. Heck, if you need a punter or kicker, just give me a minute to warm my foot up, I’ll be good.”
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) March 3, 2018
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