Tyrone Griffin had a dream.
Griffin had four boys born in less than three years. He looked at their future, looked at his past, and thought football.
Not because Griffin wanted to live through their gridiron accomplishments. It was a means to an end: college.
“I wanted them to have it better than I did,” Griffin said.
Mission accomplished. Griffin’s four boys all ended up earning scholarships to play college football. His youngest is Jam Griffin, the Oregon State fourth-year sophomore running back who ran for 86 yards and a touchdown during last Saturday’s 17-14 loss to No. 6 USC.
Griffin, who transferred from Georgia Tech to OSU this past offseason, began training with his older brothers at age 5. Not kid stuff, either. They did plyometrics and running steep hills almost every morning.
“I was so happy to be out there working with my older brothers,” Jam Griffin said.
Tyrone Griffin was known around Rome, Georgia — about an hour northwest of Atlanta — for his tough workouts. People not-so-kiddingly called him “Joe Jackson,” the father of the musical Jackson brothers. Eventually, it turned out to be a compliment. Friends of the Griffin brothers and locals came to work out under Tyrone, too, so much so that it became a side business.
“There were times when we didn’t want to do it, but we knew why we were doing it,” Jam Griffin said. “My dad was a good motivator. He’s a big part of my life and a big influence on me where I’m at right now.”
The brothers all made it to college football. Jaylen Griffin is a starting defensive tackle at Virginia Tech. Ja’Quon Griffin, who like Jam began his career at Georgia Tech then transferred, is a defensive tackle at Coastal Carolina. Ja’Kolbi Griffin started college playing football at Gardner-Webb, but now plays baseball.
Jam is unique among his brothers in that he plays offense as a running back. His three brothers are on defense. Even Tyrone Griffin played linebacker at UAB.
Because they’re close in age, the Griffin brothers played together for two years at Rome High, Jam’s freshman and sophomore seasons. There was a Griffin on the defensive line, linebacker and safety, plus Jam at running back.
“It was fun for me. At every level I got a brother that I got a shot to make miss,” Griffin said. “If I make a play on them, we’re going home to talk about that.”
Except the brothers are bigger and they’re looking to make a hit on little brother. Griffin laughs.
“I know them. I’ve been competing with them my whole life. I know their strengths and weaknesses,” he said.
Tyrone Griffin said it wasn’t as one-sided as Jam portrays.
“It went both ways,” he said.
The 5-foot-9, 210-pound Griffin was a tremendous high school football player. As a senior, Griffin ran for 2,815 yards, the fifth-highest single-season yardage total in Georgia prep history. Griffin had plenty of college offers, and he initially committed to North Carolina State before changing his mind and staying home to attend Georgia Tech.
Griffin played 21 games over a three-year Yellow Jackets career, running 91 times for 377 yards and two touchdowns. Griffin was vague as to why he decided to transfer, saying a change in scheme had something to do with it.
Griffin didn’t know much about Oregon State until running backs coach A.J. Steward reached out to him during the transfer process. Griffin took an official visit, liked the school, but even more so, embraced what strength and conditioning coach Mike McDonald had to say.
Griffin entered preseason camp in August as a contender for the starting running back job, but an injury slowed his progress. It wasn’t until late in camp that Griffin was able to cut loose. By then, Deshaun Fenwick, Trey Lowe and Damien Martinez had separated. But Griffin kept at it, and each game during nonconference got a little more work.
Then came USC when Griffin shined. Five of Griffin’s 12 carries went for more than 10 yards.
“He kept working hard and he’s earned to continue to play more and more,” OSU coach Jonathan Smith said.
A lot of running backs want to be the featured guy and carry it as much as possible. Griffin is game, if that’s what is asked. But he likes OSU’s current three-man rotation of Fenwick, Martinez and Griffin.
“I’m not a guy who wants 20 carries a game. I’m good with the 12. I do the most with it. Keeps us fresh, and coach does a good job with it,” Griffin said.
Meanwhile, Tyrone Griffin’s work is just about finished. He has one more child left, a daughter named Breana, a high school junior who hopes to play college basketball. The family home survived four football boys. The daily work paid off in four football scholarships.
“I just wanted to make sure they had the opportunity to pay for free college,” Tyrone Griffin said. “It all worked out. Just have a baby girl left to go.”
-- Nick Daschel reported from Corvallis.
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