Notre Dame Football 2021: 25 Most Impactful Players, No. 25-21
By Jack Leniart
Notre Dame Football 2021: 25 Most Impactful Players, No. 25-21
No. 22: Houston Griffith, Safety
- Best Ranking: 17
- Worst Ranking: 25
Houston Griffith was a four-star prospect from the IMG Academy in Florida, and he was the highest-graded player in Notre Dame’s 2018 recruiting class. Naturally, expectations were high for Griffith when he committed to the Irish.
He has not quite met those expectations so far, but a strong 2021 season could rewrite the narrative of his time in South Bend.
Griffith saw significant playing time as a true freshman in 2018, where he appeared in eleven games and earned his first start in his college football career. He finished that season with 14 tackles and two pass break-ups.
As a sophomore, Griffith’s production took a dip. He appeared in all 13 games that season, but he only accounted for five tackles and one pass break-up. The perception of Griffith’s performance was not helped by the fact that he was playing alongside freshman phenom Kyle Hamilton.
The 2020 season was a bit of a bounce-back year for Griffith. He appeared in all twelve games for Notre Dame and earned two starts, and while his production was not at the level some fans were hoping for, Griffith proved that (at the very least) he could be a solid rotation player for the Irish.
Entering fall camp this year, he is projected to start for the Notre Dame defense, and since opposing offenses will likely try to game plan around Kyle Hamilton, Griffith will have a great opportunity to have a productive 2021 season.