Last Saturday marked a pair of firsts for Shaquem Griffin.
The redshirt sophomore safety logged his first recovered fumble by snatching the ball from the hands of Tulane punter Peter Picerelli, a play that gave UCF with great field position and led to an early 7-0 lead. Not long after that, Griffin had his first career tackle after chasing down Marshall Wadleigh who had galloped for a big gain after executing a fake punt.
"I was surprised just as much as (the punter)," Griffin said. "He was just looking at the ball. Someone had to make a move on it. I just jumped on it. Somebody had to make the first move and that was me... It felt real good, getting the fumble. Knowing that's going to be a big lift for the team, for them to go down the field and score, I know that was a good lift for all of us. We were all turnt up on the sideline having fun. That was a big step for all of us."
Getting that first tackle brought a bigger sense of pride though.
"(The recovered fumble was) definitely most exciting play, but I think with the fake punt and making the tackle, that was the most enjoyment, tackling someone," Griffin said.
In a random quirk of happenstance, UCF has attracted several sets of twins the past few years. Jordan and Justin McCray both had a successful career on the offensive line, graduating after the 2013 Fiesta Bowl season which was the year Shaquem and Shaquill Griffin joined the program. This summer, fellow defensive backs Jeremy and Jerod Boykins enrolled. Unlike the Griffins, the Boykins are fraternal twins and not identical. On some occasions, three of the four brothers have been on the field at the same time.
"It was funny having them come in because we're all working together," Griffin said. "We didn't know they were twins at first until they told us. Once we found out, we thought it was cool to have twins. One plays safety and one plays corner, it's funny how it all worked out like that... When we're at practice and stuff, when my twin messes up on a play I go and talk to him, make sure you do this or do that, and they do it too. It's that instant communication with each other when someone messes up."
After two weeks on the road, Griffin said he's looking forward to playing in front of the home fans when UCF hosts UConn this Saturday. The Knights are searching for that first win.
"The thing is this year, even though it's been a rough time, the whole thing is keeping our heads up," he said. "Make sure the young guys understand that. Keep your head up, staying confident, keep pushing throughout the season. That's all we can do right now."
