Cornelius Griffin (; born December 3, 1976) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. He was drafted by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in the second round of the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Pearl River Community College Pearl River Community College is a public community college in Poplarville, Mississippi. It was founded as Pearl River County Agricultural High School in 1909 and became the first junior college in Mississippi in 1921. Residents of Hancock, F ...

and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. Griffin also played for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

Early life and college career

Griffin was born in

Troy, Alabama Troy is a city in and the county seat of Pike County, Alabama, United States. It was formally incorporated on February 4, 1843. Between 1763 and 1783, the area where Troy sits was part of the colony of British West Florida.The Economy of Brit ...

. His father Willie Griffin was a pastor of the Lily White Pentecostal Church in Brundidge, Alabama, and Cornelius was one of Willie and Martha Griffin's seven children. Willie died in a car accident in 1998. Griffin graduated from Pike County High School in 1995 in Brundidge, Alabama. He first played college football as a defensive tackle for

in Mississippi. Although he committed to Auburn, Griffin decided to sign with the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

after Auburn coaches wanted him to become a tight end. In the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

, he started 23 of 25 games in its team (including bowls). As a senior in 1999, he was part of the Super Sleeper Team and All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

first-team.

Professional career

2000 NFL Draft

Griffin was selected in the second round of the

by the

. "His workouts were unbelievable. We saw him as a certain first-rounder", said Giants General Manager

Ernie Accorsi Ernest William Accorsi Jr. (born October 29, 1941) is a former American football executive. He served as the general manager of three teams in the National Football League: the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants. Education an ...

New York Giants

Griffin played for four

seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

with the Giants. He was a starter in Super Bowl 35 and recorded 1.5 sacks in the game.

Washington Redskins

Griffin was signed by the Giants'

NFC East The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys ...

-rival

as an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on March 3, 2004, during the 2004

offseason In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

. Griffin had his best season in 2004, recording 96

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

(66 solo) and six sacks. He compiled 29 sacks with 461 tackles (340 solo) as a defensive tackle during his career. He was released on March 4, 2010.

After the NFL

Griffin purchased a share of Flowers Insurance Company in Troy, Alabama. The name has now been changed to Griffin-Wilkes Insurance. Griffin also coaches has coached at Pike Liberal Arts High School in Troy, Alabama. Although he currently coaches for the Pike County High School Bulldogs in Brundidge, Alabama which is also his hometown and hometown high school.

NFL statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Cornelius 1976 births Living people People from Troy, Alabama African-American players of American football Alabama Crimson Tide football players American football defensive tackles New York Giants players Pearl River Wildcats football players Players of American football from Alabama Washington Redskins players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople