Griffin excited for Hulk coaster, Cure Bowl
On Thursday, UCF players will have the opportunity to visit Universal Orlando's theme parks, one of the scheduled outings during the week leading up to Saturday's Cure Bowl against Arkansas State.
Shaquem Griffin plans to make a beeline for Universal's Islands of Adventure and specifically, the updated Incredible Hulk Coaster.
"They redid the Hulk," Griffin said. "I'm excited about that. Now that they've added some more to it, I may be cutting in line. You might see me getting to the front. I'm excited to see the new Hulk... It's going to be a great experience."
This won't be Griffin's first trip to the parks as he and his brother Shaquill have participated in UCF's annual "Universal Knights" event, but it will be the first trip for a lot of his teammates.
"We have some guys who are not from Florida, out of state guys, who might be going to Universal for the first time," Griffin said. "They'll get to see another side of Orlando. There's only a handful of us who have done the 'Universal Knights' event."
Griffin, in his first season as a contributor let alone a starter, played a major role in UCF's defensive turnaround. As an outside linebacker, the St. Petersburg native led the team and league in sacks, going on to win the American Athletic Conference's Defensive Player of the Year award.
"My main thing was just to go as hard as possible," Griffin said when asked about his goals entering the season. "Not worrying about what could happen, but what I can do to contribute to the team. Each game, I never had a goal about how many sacks or how many tackles I wanted. My whole thing was to come in and play 110 percent until my body gives out. By the time I get on the plane or the bus or walking home, I should be completely tired. That was my whole thing for each game. That was my goal."
As for the award, Shaquem said it meant the most to his mother, Tangie.
"When I told her, she was so surprised," Griffin said. "She immediately started crying. This moment was really big for her, just to see everything that I had done. Staying patient, waiting my turn and doing what I did on the field this year, she was really excited to see that. It's really big for me, but when I told her and she started crying. She was like, 'Hold on, let me call you back.' It was really good. Seeing my mom cry just really shows what I'm doing is working."
His story has become national one, thanks to media personalities like ESPN's Scott Van Pelt who has commended Shaquem on several occasions during SportsCenter broadcasts.
"Honestly, it really hasn't hit me yet," Griffin said. "It's exciting, but it hasn't hit me that wow, this is really happening. I think it'll hit me after the season when my brother leaves. It hasn't sunk in yet. Everything is happening so fast. It's just a blessing. I pray about it every day. I keep giving thanks because anything can happen. I'm glad to be in this position."
Shaquill recently said his favorite career moment was this year's season opener when he finally got to play alongside his brother. A year separates the two in classification since Shaquem redshirted his first season, meaning this bowl game will be the last time they'll play together in college.
"It's going to be emotional knowing that it's our last time playing together for UCF," Shaquem Griffin said. "I'm blessed I had the opportunity to play with him. Just being here and playing with him, getting that feel back we used to have in high school, I wouldn't trade that for anything. I know it'll be emotional for us, but it'll bring out the best in us too."