‘He’s just fearless’ Kent State commit Bryce Griffin a force on Yorkville’s defensive line

Bryce Griffin said kids called him delusional growing up.

Some his age aspired to be an astronaut when they got older. Griffin? He insisted he’d play college football.

On top of that, the lanky 6-foot-3 Yorkville senior with a frame perhaps suited to play wide receiver declared himself a defensive lineman at age 7.

“When you aim big, it doesn’t sound realistic to some people. But I knew I was going to do it,” Griffin said with a huge smile. “It’s a small percentage of kids who can play at the next level. Can’t really blame them for doubting me. Got to show them.”

Show them he has. Griffin, a defensive end/outside linebacker, had an eye-opening first varsity season last fall. He was a terror living in opponents’ backfield, a big part of Yorkville’s first conference championship in 33 years.

A self-proclaimed “nobody” new to the recruiting game until then, Griffin emerged as a Division I prospect. He was offered by Kent State in February and committed in May.

He showed ’em, not that Griffin thinks like that.

“People’s thoughts, they don’t motivate me,” Griffin said. “I motivate myself.”

Griffin showed up the first day of last year at 170 pounds. Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said Griffin started summer camp playing receiver, and McGuire believes he could have been a very good receiver. But Griffin’s heart was playing defense, where he had played his whole life, and first two seasons at Yorkville.

“It didn’t take much convincing for him to play defensive line and he has made an impact ever since,” McGuire said. “His goal this year is to play at 205 or 210 pounds and I still think he’s going to put on another 25 or 30 pounds when it’s all said and done.”

Griffin finished last season with 53 tackles for the Foxes, who went 6-4 and reached the playoffs for the fifth straight time, losing to Willowbrook in a Class 7A first-round game. Of Griffin’s 53 tackles, 22 were solos, with 21 for loss and seven sacks.

That last sentence brings a smile to Griffin’s face.

“It’s the best feeling ever, getting to a quarterback, and it’s so simple of a job,” Griffin said. “Just get the quarterback.”

McGuire, though, noted that what impressed him most about Griffin’s junior year was that he was not a one-dimensional rusher.

“With a kid like that, with his size, you are worried about whether you can keep him in on every play; he is so good with the pass rush,” McGuire said. “The thing that sticks out to me the most is not that he was so explosive on third and longs but how physical he was on first and 10, and third and two. At his weight he had to play against teams like Oswego East with two Division I tackles and he was able to hold his own.”

It started with day-in, day-out work during the offseason with Griffin’s dad and uncle, who like the rest of his family and two brothers, also played football. Griffin’s dad, Quinten, played in junior college and a year at Grambling State.

He did repetitions, the same drills over and over again. Bend the corner. Short sprints. Change of direction, going one-on-one with his uncle.

“He’s 28,” Griffin said. “If I can go against him, these high schoolers. When you work in the offseason, I knew I was going to be good but I think I kind of surprised myself. You’re not sure what you’re capable of until you get out there.”

It helped going toe-to-toe every day in practice last season with 6-foot-4, 260-pound Logan Brasfield, now a freshman offensive lineman at Coastal Carolina.

“Logan got me prepared,” Griffin said. “He was probably the best tackle in the conference and I was going against him four times a week, full contact.”

Speed would seem to get Griffin’s game where he wants to go, but he noted that he has different tools at his disposal depending on the opponent.

“You have to break your person down, figure out how you want to line up against him, what ability you have to contrast his,” Griffin said. “If he’s a big slower dude, try to get to the edge. If he’s going to overset, cut inside. If he’s weaker than you, bull rush.”

Griffin is the latest in the line of standout defensive linemen that have passed through McGuire’s program in recent years. Andrew Laurich, Jake Davies and Andrew Zook, all now playing in college, were the pillars to Yorkville’s 2022 quarterfinal team.

Griffin doesn’t have quite the size of those three, but he’s proven just as effective. He also had six pass deflections and 10 quarterback hurries as a junior.

Griffin’s thinking even bigger for senior year, which starts Aug. 30 against Plainfield South.

“I think he’s just fearless,” McGuire said. “I don’t think he thinks about how big kids are. He gives you 100% no matter what. He believes in himself, is a confident kid, has put in the work.

“He just has different strengths. He is a kid you have to account for on any play. He can destroy a play at any time. Credit to our defensive line coaches, too. We pride ourselves on playing good defense and it starts at D-line.”