Shaquem Griffin, a one-handed defensive player from Central Florida, stunned players, onlookers and NFL executives over the weekend at the league’s annual scouting event, an event for players to showcase their skills in front of all 32 teams ahead of the entry draft.
Griffin was born with a deformed left hand, which was amputated when he was a four-year-old as a result of amniotic band syndrome, a congenital condition preventing his fingers from fully developing.
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The Associated Press reported Griffin’s mother found him in the kitchen trying to cut off his fingers as a result of the scorching pain he felt when he touched things.
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Griffin was a late addition to the list of scouting combine invitees, but over the weekend the 2016 American Athletic Conference defensive player of the year put on a clinic in front of the scouts.
“Just starting that off, I just felt the energy from everybody,” told the NFL Network on Saturday. “I mean, my adrenaline was going through the roof and I didn’t feel like I needed to stop.” The 22-year-old said.
Using a prosthetic on his left arm, Griffin bench pressed 225 pounds, 20 times. His goal was six repetitions.
“So as soon as I heard I was at 16, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m going for 20.’ I was like, ‘I’m going to change my fitness regimen, I’ve got to grind this out right here.’ It felt amazing to reach that goal,” Griffin told the network.
According to the Associated Press, Griffin’s twin brother, Shaquill, managed to press the weight 17 times at least year’s scouting event. The brother went on to be drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round.
As a freshman, he couldn’t even lift the 45-pound bar, but then he was fitted with the prosethic and his mom cried when he did his first pull-up.
“It’s amazing to see how far I’ve come from not being able to bench the bar to throwing up 20 reps of 225 and being able to compete with the best here,” Griffin told the Associated Press
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And Griffin wasn’t done auditioning.
On Sunday, Griffin showed off his legs by running the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds, becoming the fastest linebacker since 2003, according to the NFL Network. He posted the time in his first of two attempts. He posted a time of 4.58 in his second run.
Griffin’s feat captured the attention of the football world including players to the likes of J. J. Watt and Richard Sherman.
“If @Shaquemgriffin doesn’t get drafted in the first two days the system is broken. Productive and performed well at the combine. Played well against high level competition,” Sherman tweeted.
“That’s crazy. You see when you don’t set limitations on yourself no matter the circumstances, there’s no limit to what you can achieve. You got my vote! #NFLCombine,” DeMarcus Ware tweeted.
–with a file from the Associated Press
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