AN UNLIKELY REUNION
Seahawks reunite twins at draft
SEATTLE OK, who wrote this one?
Was it Steven Spielberg? Aaron Sorkin, maybe? Did Peter Jackson play a role?
Because this can’t be real life. It’s just too good.
Shaquem Griffin had been the darling of his draft class since his superhero performance at the NFL combine in March. In addition to running the fastest 40-yard dash for a linebacker (4.38 seconds) in 15 years, he bench-pressed 225 pounds 20 times … without a left hand.
Born with a condition that prevented his fingers in his left hand from developing, Griffin had the hand amputated at the age of four. He has since gained national acclaim as a University of Central Florida linebacker who earned American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year honours.
Griffin’s mug would have been plastered across every sports outlet in the country regardless of who took him. No NFL team in modern history had drafted a player missing a hand.
But when the Seahawks selected him with the 141st pick Saturday, the story went from sentimental to cinematic. Just like that, Shaquem was reunited with his identical twin, Shaquill.
Who was more excited, Shaquem or his brother?
“My brother,” Shaquem said. “I was really, really, really excited, but he put an extra ‘really’ on his excitement.”
Shaquill knew the Seahawks were taking him before his younger bro (by a minute) did. While Shaquem was using the restroom at his Dallas hotel, Shaquill saw a number with a 425 area code calling his phone.
Disregarding any respect for privacy, Shaquill barged into the bathroom to hand his brother the phone — although not before tackling him with joy.
For 21 of their 22 years on Earth, Shaq and Shaq have been inseparable. Despite receiving scholarship
SEAHAWKS 2018 DRAFT PICKS
Round 1 | Pick 27 | No. 27 overall (via GB): RB Rashaad Penny, San Diego State
Round 3 | Pick 12 | No. 79 overall (via PIT): DL Rasheem Green, USC Round 4 | Pick 20 | No. 120 overall: TE Will Dissly, Washington
Round 5 | Pick 4 | No. 141 overall: OLB Shaquem Griffin, Central Florida Round 5 | Pick 9 | No. 146 overall: DB Tre Flowers, Oklahoma State Round 5 | Pick 12 | No. 149 overall (via DEN): P Michael Dickson, Texas Round 5 | Pick 31 | No. 168 overall: OT Jamarco Jones, Ohio State Round 6 | Pick 12 | No. 186 overall (via GB): LB/DL Jacob Martin, Temple
Round 7 | Pick 2 | No. 220 overall (via PIT): QB Alex McGough, Florida International
offers from more prestigious programs, Shaquill chose to play alongside Shaquem at UCF.
But because Shaquem redshirted as a freshman and Shaquill did not, Shaquill went pro a year earlier than his brother. And though the two still talked every day and watched every one of each other’s games, they knew chances of a long-term reunion were slim.
“It’s funny. I feel like there was maybe a one per cent chance that you get twin brothers on the same team,” said Shaquill, a cornerback who went in the third round last year.
This is a guy who, despite racking up 166 tackles in his final two years at UCF, didn’t receive an initial invite to the combine.
This is a guy whose father would create various devices out of wood so Shaquem could do bench presses, curls and pull-ups.
Excuses were nonexistent in the Griffin household. Results were the only focus.
Obviously, there is still the process of Shaquem making the team. Head coach Pete Carroll gushed about his potential as a weakside linebacker, but the country is littered with fifth-round picks who never played a regular-season snap.
Something feels different about Shaquem’s situation, though. Failure never seems to want to be associated with him.
I can’t tell you who wrote this script, but I know it deserves a happy ending.