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Notre Dame Football Recruiting

Father Salutes Houston Griffith's Decision

December 13, 2017
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Howard Griffith knows what it takes to win at the highest level of football and he also has an understanding of how important the entirety of the college experience is and the Super Bowl champion is proud of the decision his son, Houston Griffith‍, made on Tuesday night, when the 2018 defensive back announced his commitment to Notre Dame.

“Ultimately, he ended up in the best place for him,” said Mr. Griffith, who played fullback in the NFL for a decade, winning a pair of Super Bowl titles with the Denver Broncos.

“It’s a good fit for him. He’ll obviously be challenged academically and he’ll be challenged on the field. He needs to be ready to take that next step.”

Griffith and his father made several trips down to South Bend when he was at Mount Carmel High School in Chicago and continued to visit even when he transferred down to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Many had Griffith ticketed to Notre Dame early on given that proximity and the formation of such an early relationship, but he checked out many other schools and was even committed to Florida State for a couple months earlier this fall.

“Any time you can have life experiences and you can actually go through them, try them out and figure out what’s ultimately going to be best for you, obviously that’s going to help with him making the decision to commit to Notre Dame,” his father explained.

“It’s big for him. I think part of it was him going off to school at IMG and being down there for a year and a half, having a chance to be away from home and trying to make decisions on your own and grow on your own. They’re not necessarily mistakes, but kids make decisions that they don’t always believe 100 percent and go back and change your mind. That’s what happens when you grow.”

And that’s what he believes happened with his son.

“Experiences he’s had to this point have been really helpful for him, including having the opportunity to be committed to Florida State,” said Mr. Griffith. “At the end of the day, there are no bad decisions you possibly can make. I think you can just make a decision that fits you a little bit better down the road.”

His time in the NFL also offered him the chance to get to know several Notre Dame alumni like Jerome Bettis, Rod Smith, Chris Zorich and Pat Terrell

“They’re guys who I’ve played with on teams and been associated with who are Notre Dame grads who are doing great things outside of football now.”

Given his personal experiences within the game, Mr. Griffith is better-equipped to analyze coaching staffs than most parents and he gives Brian Kelly and the Irish high marks.

“It starts with Coach Kelly,” he said. “Coach Kelly had to make some really tough decisions at the end of last seasons. I think that really showed a lot. It’s one thing to be the head coach and you can be set in your ways, but to recognize you have to make decisions that aren’t easy to make really speaks volumes to who Coach Kelly is.

“Bringing in the staff he brought in, the University and athletic department showed great confidence in him to bring the guys in he did. They made huge changes. Obviously, defensively, they made big steps. In the strength and conditioning area, they made huge steps that I think are only going to continue to get better. Offensively, they’re playing well. They’ve become a much more physical football team and that’s fun to watch.”

 
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