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Former UCF star Shaquem Griffin will be a Week 1 NFL starter

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

An incredible story continues.

Last season, in the middle of UCF’s undefeated “national championship” run, was linebacker Shaquem Griffin, a defensive star who lost one of his hands due to a birth defect. Throughout most of the 2017 season, he was the best story in college football.

Now, Griffin’s incredible journey continues this weekend, as Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll confirmed that the linebacker will make the Week 1 start against the Broncos on Sunday.

Griffin was a menace for UCF a season ago, racking up 74 tackles, 13.5 for loss, seven sacks and nine quarterback hurries. He was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year and was a second-team All-American.

After his collegiate career came to a close, the NFL was hesitant to give Griffin an invitation to the scouting combine, held for some of the top prospects in the upcoming draft class. Eventually, the linebacker got his shot.

Griffin was selected in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB