Naples News
By Adam Fisher
May 26, 2013
Jack Griffin is doing his best to relax while playing the waiting game.
After breaking records at Florida International, Griffin knows he has what it takes to be an NFL kicker. Yet as teams started organized team activities this week, the St. John Neumann graduate found himself at home in Naples staying patient and optimistic that he’ll still be invited to an NFL training camp.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” Griffin said. “Not being on a team is stressful, but being on a team can be stressful. Right now I’m out here kicking with my friends who are some of the best kickers in the country. I’m able to work with them and get better without worrying about a bunch of different eyes on me.”
Griffin was at Gulf Coast High School on Saturday morning doing what he’s done the past three weeks since graduating from FIU — training for his next NFL shot. Ten players from around the country took part in the Kornblue Kicking College Camp run by former Florida Firecats player Brandon Kornblue.
Born and raised in Naples, Griffin hopes to become the first Neumann player to make the NFL. He graduated from FIU as the Panthers’ all-time leading scorer after starting for three seasons.
In his first season as the full-time kicker, Griffin set FIU records for field goals and extra points. He also hit the game-winning field goal as time expired in the Little Caesars Bowl in the Panthers’ first bowl appearance.
As a junior, Griffin was even better. He broke his school record for field goals by making 22 of 26 attempts. The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder was in the top 10 in the country in field goals made, and was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award for the nation’s best kicker.
FIU went 3-9 in Griffin’s senior year, limiting his scoring chances. Though he didn’t get invited to the NFL Combine, Griffin had workouts with the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins this spring, and was in discussions with the Seattle Seahawks.
“You just have to stay on your toes and stay focused on your task and your goals,” Griffin said. “Right now I’m just waiting. I’m going to keep trying, keep plugging away. It’s just trying to find the right fit at the right time.”
Griffin will continue to work with Kornblue, a Bonita Springs resident who coaches kickers around the country.
Kornblue played at the University of Michigan and was a sophomore on the Wolverines’ 1997 national championship team. He played for the arenafootball2’s Firecats before retiring in 2006 to focus on teaching and coaching.
Saturday’s camp featured kickers from some of the country’s top college football teams — Florida, Texas, Notre Dame and Illinois. In 2011, Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh attended Kornblue’s camp before his senior season at Georgia. Walsh made the Pro Bowl as a rookie last season.
As a permanent resident of Southwest Florida, Kornblue has worked with Griffin since he was a sophomore at St. John Neumann. While he’s surprised no NFL teams have signed Griffin yet, Kornblue has no doubt that Griffin will get a shot.
“I’ve been telling scouts about him for a while,” Kornblue said. “There really haven’t been a lot of eyes on him. He has to have the right people see him. He’ll get a chance the way he’s kicking right now.”
Griffin has a good coach. Kornblue has a history of placing kickers in colleges, and scouts often rely on the national kicker and punter rankings on Kornblue’s website.
Kornblue is so good he can take someone who’s never kicked and get him a college scholarship in one year. That’s what happened with Andrew Lunsford, a 2010 graduate of Evangelical Christian in Fort Myers.
Lunsford played soccer and ran track in high school, while his younger brother John was the kicker on the Sentinels football team. Watching how much Kornblue helped his brother, now the kicker at Liberty, Andrew Lunsford took up kicking after never playing football in his life.
A year later, Kornblue got Lunsford a tryout for Webber International. Lunsford, who attended Saturday’s kicking camp, will be on scholarship with the NAIA football team this fall.
“I knew I had a strong leg,” said Lunsford, a 6-2, 215-pound former soccer player. “Brandon Kornblue gave me the coaching to know how to use it. He did a good job getting me a lot of exposure and getting me in front of the right people.”
Griffin still is waiting to be seen by the right coaches. He’s explored other options, including the Canadian Football League, but he’s focused on the NFL for now.
If football doesn’t work out, Griffin earned his degree in criminal justice from Florida International and is applying to join the FBI. For now, he’ll continue to work and wait.
“I was more anxious in the beginning,” Griffin said. “Now, I feel a little bit better about it because I’m refining my technique and skills. I feel like I’m getting better without having the stress.”