Houston Griffith’s Development: Can He Become A Stud At Safety?

After sitting out the previous season, safety Alohi Gilman was an immediate revelation in 2018 and a key reason why Notre Dame made its first-ever trip to the College Football Playoff.

Without him and his heroic strip on near the goal line against Vanderbilt, the Fighting Irish possibly lose to a subpar Commodores team and most fans are talking about what could have been.

With Gilman and his backend running mate Jalen Elliott hoping to hear their names called at the 2020 NFL Draft in April, most have rising sophomore Kyle Hamilton pegged as the heir apparent at the safety position, but he can't replace two starters alone.

Could the other answer be Houston Griffith?

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A late flip from Florida State by former cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght, Griffith was the highest-rated prospect Notre Dame signed in the class of 2018 according to Rivals, which had him as the No. 43 overall player nationally.

As an early enrollee he played safety, and it didn’t take Griffith long to get on the field his freshman season as the team’s nickel in replacement of Shaun Crawford, who had torn his ACL for the second time in fall camp.

He played 197 snaps at a freshman according to Pro Football Focus, which was the most among Notre Dame true freshman (PFF takes into account being on the field for certain penalties such as pass interference).

Griffith moved to boundary corner the following spring, but a minor injury derailed him at the beginning of fall camp. He plummeted down the depth chart and by October he moved back to safety, which many view as his more natural position.

But that came with fewer reps. In 2019, he played 104 snaps, far below Hamilton's total as a freshman and Griffith's minutes came almost exclusively during garbage time.

With the offseason addition of Ohio State graduate transfer Isaiah Pryor, Griffith came into the start of spring practice hungry.