Tennessee making early impressions on 2021 in-state OT William Griffin
It’s still early, but one of the top 2021 prospects from the state of Tennessee is William Griffin.
The 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive tackle from Pearl-Cohn already holds initial offers from Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU, Auburn and others, picking up a scholarship from the Vols way back in January of 2018.
The in-state tackle was in town recently to camp and work with OL coach Will Friend, calling his trip “a great experience.”
“It was fun,” Griffin said.
“(Friend) is a good coach. He’s a funny guy. He teaches in a way anyone can understand. He breaks things down easy. He showed me new techniques that helped me a lot now that I’ve used in other camps, training and 1-on-1s.”
Griffin has visited Tennessee four times in the last year, frequently making the trip over from Nashville with former teammate and Vols signee Elijah Simmons. The latest trip allowed him to catch up with his close friend, but it was also an opportunity to learn a few things from Friend and OL assistant Cam Clemons.
“I’m primarily a right tackle, but this year my team needs me to play some left, so he showed me how to better my stance on the left side,” Griffin said, explaining the techniques he picked up.
“He showed me instead of having my hands to my chest when I’m punching to have them already in the zone, so instead of me catching them I’m punching first.”
Griffin camped at Georgia on Tuesday and will be at Ohio State this weekend. He started his summer tour at Tennessee, though, because “it’s the in-state school.”
“They’re one of the favorites and they care about you as a person and athlete,” he said.
Griffin is a rather gentle giant off the field, but he’s eager to continue improving his stock this summer. He’s focused not only camping at various colleges, but emerging as one of the veteran voices at Pearl-Cohn, which lost a bunch of seniors off last season’s 9-3 team.
“Tennessee likes that I’m a stereotypical o-lineman,” he said, chuckling.
“I don’t like social media very much. I’m not about (the hot sauce). I just try to work harder than everybody. I like to go compete in any form or setting. I’m not scared of anybody.
This year we’re going to be young, so I have to open up more and show that I can be a leader.”
While Griffin is just in the infancy stages of his recruitment, it’s clear that the Vols have already caught the big lineman’s eye. He plans to make several more trips back to Tennessee in the future.
“They always setup their players for great success,” he said.
“They have a very good coaching staff that came up through the ranks. It took a while for them to get there but coach Pruitt did a great job getting everyone there and building it.”