Shaquem Griffin's trip to the NFL is a story of relentless determination and brotherly love.
News April 29, 2018, 12:31 IST
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There are two things that Shaquem Griffin had to get used to in his life: adversity and rebuff. Fortunately, his brother has been with him every step of the way.
The linebacker realized his NFL dream on Saturday when he was selected in the fifth round by the Seattle Seahawks, joining his twin brother Shaquill in the Pacific Northwest, after a remarkable trip to the professional ranks.
Shaquem was born with amniotic band syndrome, a condition that causes the fingers of his left hand not to fully develop.
So severe was the pain in his hand that the four-year-old Shaquem tried to amputate his fingers with a butcher's knife, and that incident led his parents to take him to the hospital to amputate his hand.
But that turn of events did not stop Griffin from pursuing a sports career while competing in athletics and baseball, as well as football, and he left Lakewood High School qualified as a three-star athlete in the college recruiting class.
However, when the time came to take the leap to college it was Shaquill who received the gre In addition, he refused the interest and refused the offer of several high profile schools because they would not sign Shaquem.
Here is the moment. @Shaquemgriffin receives the call from @Shawhawks and celebrates it with his twin brother @ Shackill . #NFLDraft
(via @espn ) pic.twitter.com/2KhQPB9F7L
However, instead of quitting, Shaquem fought back to the starting defense and blossomed under the direction of coach Scott Frost, compiling 33.5 tackles for defeats and 18.5 sacks in his last two seasons and being named Conference Player of the Year American Athletics in 2016.
The story of Shaquem has been defined by implacability. Despite the stellar finale of his career at UCF, he had to campaign for an invitation to the Scouting Combine, with an excellent week of practice at the Senior Bowl, the main All-Star game for college prospects, helping him get one. 19659016] Without stopping there, he later stole the show in Indianapolis with 20 banking representatives using a prosthetic arm and a 40-yard run time of 4.38 seconds.
His performance at the Combine led Griffin to become an international sensation and talk about him being drafted in the second or third round, but, according to the rest of his trip, Shaquem had to endure a last snub as he fell. to position 141 in general when the Seahawks made the call.
Fittingly it was Shaquill who saw Shaquem's phone ring first, burst into the bathroom to force him to respond.
What a moment, @Shaquemgriffin is officially a Seahawk! #SeahawksDraft pic.twitter.com/7BGA8SPgmt
– Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 28, 2018
"That was the phone call I've been waiting for all my life" Said Shaquem on the NFL Network. "I could not breathe, I forgot how to talk, I was lost because of the words."
"The opportunity to play with my brother, we come to the next chapter of our life and we are still together."
They are still together and, with the The possibility that Shaquill will start for the Seahawks at the corner after Richard Sherman's departure will play an important role since Seattle will seek to maintain a reputation for excellent defense play.
But for Shaquem, his story, although not complete, it's more than showing that it's worthy of a place in the NFL, it's about showing those you've inspired that everything is possible.
"It does not matter if you have one hand, two hands, three hands, 40 hands", he added. " If he keeps pushing for everything he wants in life, he can do it. "
Shaquem has kept pushing at every stop on his way to the NFL, has overcome all the obstacles and every setback he has faced. a brother like Shaquill, sky tr uly is the limit for Shaquem, and it would be foolish to bet against him becoming an NFL hit with the Seahawks.
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