USC CB Olaijah Griffin: 'I just felt like I was unstoppable'
Sophomore cornerback Olaijah Griffin said he wasn't even supposed to be on the field for that pivotal third-and-3 early in the second quarter, but the Trojans weren't able to make substitutions for their larger red zone package.
So it was on Griffin to play larger.
Stanford was leading 14-3 already and had just recovered a fumble on a kickoff, taking over at the USC 21 with a chance to really create some separation early in the game. And the Cardinal saw a matchup they wanted to exploit with 6-foot-7, 251-pound tight end Colby Parkinson against the 6-foot, 180-pound Griffin.
Stanford went right to Parkinson on first down, motioning him across the field and down the right sideline where quarterback Davis Mills tossed it up to the tall TE in the front right corner of the end zone. Griffin was stuck right on Parkinson, though, timed his leap perfectly and with his left arm fully extended knocked the pass away.
The Cardinal decided to try again two plays later on that third-and-3 from the 14. USC did make one substitution between snaps, but with Griffin on the far side of the field the coaches must have felt they couldn't swap out at that spot. No problem -- the young corner played press coverage on Parkinson and maintained his position downfield while also keeping his eyes tuned to Mills, and this time he even more easily broke up the pass. Stanford would settle for a field goal and the USC offense would immediately mount its comeback on the way to a 45-20 win.
"I thought Olaijah played really good ball in the first game. I thought it was even better today," Trojans coach Clay Helton said. "We really were nervous going into the game because of the size of their outside receivers, especially putting the tight ends out there, and he played big. He played large tonight for us."
Said Griffin of defending the big TE Parkinson: "I mean, shoot, that's some ability that I didn't even know I had. So I [felt] like Superman after that."
Griffin noted that he felt that Stanford was making a point to go at him -- and he welcomed it.
"I felt them testing, but I wasn't going to let them pass that test," he said.
Just two games into his sophomore season, Griffin has already emerged as a true No. 1 corner in the making. He had 4 tackles and 4 pass breakups Saturday against Stanford, showing the full depth of his abilities.
Whereas USC's other young corners -- and this has happened a few times to redshirt freshman Isaac Taylor-Stuart -- are also athletic enough to get in position, they haven't consistently shown the spatial awareness and instincts that Griffin does once the ball is in the air.
Furthermore, Griffin has quickly proven to be both a willing and very capable tackler, aggressively flinging himself at larger players when he sees the opportunity for a stop. That's a considerable asset from the cornerback position.
There was a great example of that early in the fourth quarter. Stanford badly needed a scoring drive down 18 with a little more than 10 minutes remaining, and on third-and-3 Mills tossed a quick pass to 249-pound Houston Heimuli. Before he could get any head of steam going, Griffin lowered his shoulder right into the much heavier fullback and stopped him a yard shot. USC defensive tackle Jay Tufele would then stuff running back Cameron Scarlett on fourth-and-1 to force a huge turnover on downs.
Asked what he felt he showed Saturday night, Griffin talked about those kind of plays.
"That I'm not a weak link and that I can come up to hit and I can cover," he said.
Griffin did get called for one pass interference penalty across the middle in the second quarter, but it was far from an egregious act and could have just as easily not been flagged. Regardless, he was exceptional for the Trojans and has quickly provided a compelling answer to the USC defense's biggest question entering the season -- the lack of experience at cornerback.
After playing all 80 defensive snaps in the season opener (according to Pro Football Focus' advanced data), Griffin played 68 of 70 snaps against Stanford. While Taylor-Stuart and freshman Chris Steele continue to rotate on the other side (48 snaps for Taylor-Stuart, 21 for Steele on Saturday), Griffin is quickly emerging as a dependable keystone for that young secondary.
To that point, one more highlight from the win Saturday ...
It was third-and-6 for Stanford late in the second quarter at its own 38. USC had cut a 14-point deficit to 20-17 and had all the momentum. Griffin would help add to it. Looking to answer the Trojans' surge, Mills found Simi Fehoko open on the right sideline for a would-be first down. Griffin couldn't get up this time to prevent the 6-foot-4 wideout from hauling in the pass, but he smartly made sure to shove him out of bounds in the air before he could land a foot down. Incomplete pass, Stanford punted and USC scored the go-ahead touchdown on the ensuing drive.
"I'm just proud of myself. It's hard work, and I got myself to this level and hopefully I can get myself to the next level," Griffin said. "... This whole game I just felt proud. This energy I had in my game today, I just felt like I was unstoppable."
On this night at least, he sort of was. The pass interference penalty aside, PFF marked Griffin down for 5 passing targets against him and 0 completions allowed.
The 5-star prospect had a quiet freshman season, limited by shoulder issues at points and otherwise stuck behind veterans on the depth chart. He missed the spring while recovering from surgery on both shoulders, but now he says, "I can show the world what I can do."
"He's a kid that I'm really happy for," Helton said. "You don't know how hard it is to have not one but two shoulder surgeries at the same time. Both are six-month rehabs, and how much more can you put into this season in that rehab, to get strong and get back out here. He's a talented player with a really, really bright future."