Ithaca’s Griffin helps Red Dragons start strong

In any level of football, the offensive line is one of the most important components of a successful team. In particular, the left tackle usually bears the crucial responsibility of protecting the quarterback’s blind side. Daquan Griffin has been that key piece on the nationally ranked SUNY Cortland team.

The Red Dragons are off to a 4-0 start and opened up Empire 8 play with a 28-7 win over SUNY Morrisville this past weekend. Griffin is part of a high-octane offense that has averaged 51 points per game and have outscored opponents 205-49 so far. But he knows that there’s still room for improvement.

“We definitely have a bunch of big playmakers,” Griffin said. “The receivers, running backs and quarterbacks have all been really good. [On the] O-line, we’ve been playing pretty solid so far. [There’s] a few things that I think that we should still clean up on, but so far, we’ve been playing lights out. Everyone’s just been doing their one-eleventh of the job, and it’s working out pretty well.”

The quarterback that Griffin is tasked to protect is Zac Boyes, who is in the midst of a breakout campaign. In his first season as starter, the sophomore has thrown for 1,148 yards, 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He also leads all of Division III with a 232.6 passer rating.

“I’ve been pretty impressed with him, considering this is his first time playing significant snaps in college football,” Griffin said. “That was definitely something that people had concerns about, but he’s always seemed like a good player. He’s always seemed like he knows what he’s doing, and I’ve noticed that since day one. This was something that I think not only me but most of the team expected him to do.”

While Boyes’ performances have been a spectacle, the play of Griffin and the rest of the offensive line has allowed him to flourish. Griffin knows the biggest thing that goes into being a left tackle is preparation.

“[It’s about] watching film, knowing what moves players like to use, how they like to try to get to the quarterback,” Griffin said. “Being able to pick up on it in film sessions early in the week to know moves that they like to go, their backup moves and their change of moves that they’re going to use secondly. After that, it’s just playing physical. … I always try to be the most physical player as much as I can. As long as I’m blocking physically, I feel like I’ll make room for either the runs to get through there or be able to hold off in pass protection enough for Boyes to make a good throw.”

Griffin has strong local ties, growing up in Ithaca and playing for the Little Red football team. He didn’t have to move too far from home to attend college. However, he was not initially gifted a spot in the starting lineup.

As a freshman, he didn’t see any playing time, but he then featured in all 11 games the following season and has cemented himself as the go-to left tackle in the past two seasons. Griffin attributed the transition from high school to college ball came down to getting in better shape.

“Most people don’t realize that most people who play a collegiate sport were the best players in their high school,” Griffin said. “So, being able to make that jump — not only physically being better, in better shape, being stronger, but also mentally being able to pick up on the plays — is what you need to do. It’s also just being able to pick up on it quickly and being able to help everyone else out around you. My freshman year, although I didn’t play much, I knew more of the plays than the other freshmen quickly and was able to help everyone else out and build that culture around everyone else and not think it’s just for you. You need to be able to help out everyone around you and not just yourself.”

Griffin helped the Red Dragons to an Empire 8 title last season, going unbeaten in conference play in the process. This time around, he knows exactly what it’ll take to repeat that feat.

“[We need to be] the most disciplined team,” Griffin said. “We’ve definitely had our struggles in our first few games with penalties. If we can be a more disciplined team and not commit so many penalties, I think we’ll most likely dominate the Empire 8 again.”

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