#AgainstAllOdds: 'Blessed' One-Handed Linebacker Drafted by Seattle Seahawks

Talia Wise, Steve Warren
04-28-2018

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Shaquem Griffin, an all-star linebacker for the University of Central Florida, became the first football player with one hand to be drafted into the NFL Saturday.

He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks during the third day of the NFL Draft taking place in Dallas. Griffin was selected in the fifth round.

He joins his brother Shaquill Griffin, who was a third-round pick of the Seahawks in 2017 and started 11 games at cornerback last season.

Shaquem tweeted a video of his family and friends celebrating when his name was announced.  The title? #AgainstAllOdds.

A little more than a month ago, Griffin participated in the NFL combine at the Indianapolis Colts' Lucas Oil Stadium. NFL managers, owners, recruits, and players were blown away with his performance.

Before the big event, Griffin tweeted, "It's in God's hands." 

"I would love to play with this guy! Salute @Shaquemgriffin," Von Miller, a linebacker for the Denver Broncos, tweeted.

The 225-pound linebacker ran a 4.38 second 40-meter-dash and completed 20 reps in a 225-pound bench press with a prosthetic device clamped on the weight bar. 

"I got chill bumps watching him do 20 reps," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. "I literally choked up a little bit watching him do that and I can't wait to watch him tomorrow."

His sprint time was the fastest time in his division group since 2003.

Griffin's left hand was amputated when he was four-years-old due to a rare birth defect which prevented his fingers from fully forming. 

But he has never let that stop him. 

"I'm not amazed at all," Griffin said during a press conference after Saturday's NFL combine. "A lot of people see somebody who has one hand instead of two, and they think it's different or it doesn't make sense. 'Oh, he has one hand – How can you play football?'"

"Well, what if I say, 'You have two hands, can you play football?' At the end of the day, you have to show what you can do. You can't set limits on what you can do, whether you have two hands or 30 hands," he continued. "Show me what you can do, and we'll go from there. Don't set limits for me, because when I wake up in the morning and I brush my teeth and I look at myself in the mirror, it's only me that I see in the mirror. I'm not going to see anybody else in the mirror. That's how I live, day by day. When I look in the mirror, it's up to me to accomplish everything I want out of life."

Coming into the combine, Griffin knew he would face skepticism despite being a 2016 American Athletic Conference (ACC) Defensive Player of the Year, receiving this year's Football Bowl Subdivision 2017 Senior CLASS award, and leading his team in tackles and sacks during the 2017 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against Auburn University. 

"So many people are going to have doubts about what I can do, and obviously, it started at the bench press," Griffin said, a few hours after he completed his 20 reps. "Some people think I can do three, some people think I can do five, some people didn't think I could do the bench press. But I did it and competed with everybody else and did 20, and that's just one step closer to everything I need to accomplish. There's going to be a lot more doubters saying what I can't do, and I'm ready to prove them wrong."

Griffin, whose brother is a cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks, didn't initially receive an invitation to the athletic event, but he says he hopes his performance is an inspiration to others, Titans Online reported. 

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson tweeted to Griffin saying, "Unbelievable. Can't no one stops what God has for you!"

"I hope I inspire a lot (of people)," Griffin said. "I always tell everybody, if I can inspire one, and they can inspire another and inspire a thousand later. If I keep doing what I'm doing now, I can change the minds of a lot of other people later."

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