Louisville football safety MJ Griffin ready to 'explode' after returning from ACL injury

M.J. Griffin and his dad, Ryan, had just gone out to eat when they headed back to M.J.’s place to watch Louisville football’s season opener at Georgia Tech.

M.J. was two weeks removed from having surgery after tearing his left ACL during fall camp and couldn’t travel with the Cardinals. To keep things as normal as possible, Ryan came to Louisville every weekend to be with his son during football season. They watched the games on TV when U of L was on the road, or Ryan would be in the stands while M.J. stood on the sideline during home games.

“With him being injured, he walked on the sideline, he came, he found where I was, we still did our thing, our little hand signal, dap, and it was like, 'OK, my son's good,'" Ryan said. “He sees me. He knows I'm here. So, it's like that assurance is there. I wanted to keep things as routine as possible.”

M.J., a redshirt senior defensive back, has had to develop patience over the last eight months as he prepares to get back on the field. Although he isn’t practicing during spring ball, M.J. said he's about 75% to 80% healthy and is expected to be a starter this season.

“He can't wait. He loves this team,” Ryan said of his son. “He loves this defense. All he talks about is what they have on defense, how deep they are. For him, I’ll just say he's gonna explode.”

Prior to the injury, Louisville defensive coordinator Ron English thought M.J. was the team's best DB. M.J. was injured during a fall camp drill. He said when his legs popped off the ground, he felt a snap. He told the coaching staff and trainers, all of whom had an idea what it was.

After going to the doctor, the worst was confirmed: M.J. had torn his ACL. It was a heavy moment for the Griffins. Ryan gave M.J. space to process the news and made sure M.J. knew he had his family’s support. The elder Griffin said everyone in Louisville’s athletics department — from athletics director Josh Heird to the trainers — stayed in constant contact with him about M.J.

Up until that point, M.J.'s worst injury was hurting his toe when he was 11. That injury kept him out of two games. During his time at Temple, M.J. tweaked his knee but never missed time on the field. For the first time since he started playing sports at 5 years old, M.J. was out for the season.

The injury took a toll on M.J.'s physical and mental health. In addition to not playing football, he needed help with simple things like walking, cooking and taking care of his dog, a white-and-black pit bull named Sierra. Depending on his family was key in those moments.

"My mom and dad and my siblings talked to me almost every day, make sure I was fine," M.J. said. "They would visit me a lot and make sure that I'm able to move around and do what I need done around the house. It was a real challenge, but I feel like that made me a lot smarter, a lot more grateful. I feel like it got me closer to God because things happen for a reason."

In addition to his own struggles with not being on the field, M.J.’s absence was a blow to Louisville’s depth at safety. Although Josh Minkins — then Cam Kelly — and Devin Neal filled the starting roles, being shallow caught up to the Cardinals later in the season.

“We played with two safeties all year, and around that 9-, 10-, 11-game mark, they kind of look beat up and tired and fatigued,” English said. “... One was honorable mention, and one was third team. So, they played good football, but they were down.”

As rough as it was, M.J. never got too down. He spent most of his time rehabbing with small drills to regain strength in his knee while mentally preparing to get back onto the field. When he wasn't working out, he was in English’s office, learning from and continuing to develop his relationship with his new DC, who recruited him at Purdue.

Much of what English told M.J. was a reiteration of what Ryan had told his son. The biggest points of emphasis were for M.J. to learn offense and become a more vocal leader.

"I learned about more formations, the quarterback's shoulder," M.J. said, "the way it's pointed, how high it's pointed or how low it's pointed, where his shoulders are pointed, his reads, what his favorite reads are. Offensive stuff like that, knowing the basic stuff."

M.J. also made sure to cheer on his teammates from the sideline and had an up-close look at what he was learning in the playbook. Even with a deep group of safeties, the intangibles he developed during his time off the field are what make him hard to beat out now that he’s closer to returning.

“He's got a great attitude. He never felt like woe is me,” English said. “He's in my office all the time trying to do ball. ... He has talent, too, and toughness, too, and all that. He's played a lot of ball. But now he does all the extra stuff. It's hard to beat that guy out. It's gonna be hard to beat that guy out.

“I don't want to put pressure on him, but I kind of expect him to be an elite player. I think he can be an elite player.”

M.J. beamed when thinking about what that first moment back on the field will be like. To have an opportunity to prove English right will be more than a year in the making.

"I don't know, I might do a couple backflips on the field when I run out that tunnel," M.J. said. "But, no, I'm gonna feel very grateful to be out there. I'm gonna feel very blessed. I feel like the moment's gonna be surreal because it's been two years. I'm just ready to be out there."

Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football: Safety could have big season in Jeff Brohm Year 2