Versatility makes safety Griffin safe pick
The popular wisdom is that the safety position has evolved in pro football, with a new breed of bigger, stronger, faster, more versatile safeties patrolling NFL secondaries. Michael Griffin of the University of Texas fits that description.
Griffin knows about breeds. He raises pitbulls and enters them in dog shows. The 5-foot-11 3/4-inch, 202-pound Longhorns defensive back has won eight prizes with his prized pets.
Like his dogs, Griffin, who had a team-high 126 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, and 4 interceptions as a senior, is fast, strong, ferocious, and instinctive. What could make the Austin, Texas, native intriguing to the Patriots and other teams that value versatility is that Griffin, who has run a 4.47 in the 40, isn't a pure breed. He's a mix of strong and free safety, having played both at Texas.
"In this day and age in the NFL, you need safeties who are able to cover," Griffin said at the NFL Combine in February. "If they need me to be a nickel or dime back, I'll do it. I'm just trying to get my foot in the door and prove what I can do.
"I'm just one of those guys, you need me to play this position, I'll do the best I can. I'm not real picky. I'll play strong or free or corner. If they want me to play linebacker, I'm going to go out and do the best I can and try to help my team win a game."
Griffin's flexibility is the result of the approach that Texas co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Duane Akina takes to his secondary. Akina, who has sent 20 defensive backs to the NFL, including Chris McAlister of the Ravens when Akina coached at Arizona, believes in versing his DBs in as many roles as possible. Akina doesn't see safeties and corners, he sees defensive backs and he wants the four best on the field. Longhorns safeties are expected to be able to cover like corners, and cornerbacks must support the run like safeties.
"I believe that the concept I'm teaching, it gives them all a better chance of understanding how the defense is built, and I think it helps them in their future down the road," said Akina.
It seems to be working. For the second straight year, Texas had the Thorpe Award winner, which goes to the top defensive back in college football. Cornerback Aaron Ross, another potential Patriots target, won the award this year, following safety Michael Huff, who was selected seventh overall in the 2006 draft by the Oakland Raiders.
With Ross and Huff and cornerback Cedric Griffin, who was selected in the second round last year by the Minnesota Vikings, it was easy for Michael Griffin to get lost in the shuffle. But Akina said Griffin, who led the 2005 national title team in tackles with 124, made his presence felt.
"It was Michael Huff's secondary [in 2005], without a doubt," said Akina. "But Michael Huff was not a vocal leader. Huff was the intellectual one and not the real tough guy and he wanted to be more like Griffin. Griffin took from Huff the intellectual side of the game -- knowing splits, knowing formations, and knowing backfield alignments. I think he emerged as the leader."
Griffin, who came to Texas as a tailback but got on the field as a true freshman at strong safety and nickelback, may have tried to be too much of a leader this past season. Injuries to fellow starters, cornerback Tarell Brown and safety Marcus Griffin, Michael's twin brother, and the departure of Huff, prompted Michael Griffin to get away from his game. At times he ran right past plays or bit on fakes.
"I put a lot of pressure on myself at one point to try to live up to all the hype and try to make plays," said Griffin. "My brother was down, we were playing younger guys, and I felt like I had to pick up the slack. Our pass defense wasn't rated so good and I was trying to pick it up on my own and not within the team. In my opinion, I was trying to do too much. I talked it over with the coaches and calmed down and realized what I needed to do to play a better game the rest of the season."
Akina disagreed with Griffin's read.
"I think he feels that way because there was a big play here and there because he might have been out of position to compensate for the freshmen and because his brother had ankle problems," said Akina. "I think it's just Michael being hard on himself. He had a great year for us."
What is indisputable is Griffin's punt blocking prowess. He blocked eight punts during his Texas career, the second-highest total in NCAA Division 1 history. Griffin blocked two punts last season and four during the 2005 season, none bigger than his game-changing block in Texas's 40-29 victory over archrival Texas A&M.
With the Aggies clinging close to Texas in the third quarter, Griffin told Akina, who also coordinates Texas's punt returns, he thought he could get to the punt if they ran a specific punt block. Akina changed his call and Griffin quashed the kick, which Texas scooped up for a score.
"I got the job done, but if it weren't for the rest of my teammates doing their jobs, I wouldn't have been able to," said Griffin.
Griffin talks like a Patriot already. If New England is interested in him, officials are trying to keep it quiet. Griffin said he's visited seven teams: Detroit, San Diego, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Washington, and the New York Jets. The Jets, who pick 25th, one spot after the Patriots' initial first-round selection, could be engaging in some gamesmanship with their AFC East rivals. Or they could just see Griffin as a fit for the Patriots doppelganger Eric Mangini is creating in New York.
Either way, somebody figures to draft Griffin in the first round, and that's good news for his two pitbulls, Jock and Rose, who is named after the Rose Bowl, where Texas won the 2005 national championship.
"I think there is a chance those guys could be eating better and traveling easier in the next week," said Akina.
Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com. 
