Highlight Waiting To Happen
September 12, 2021 | Football, Joel Coleman
Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin has quickly become one of college football’s most explosive players.
STARKVILLE – It's getting to the point where everyone in maroon and white can feel it.
Mississippi State is set to return a kickoff. One of the Bulldogs back to receive is Lideatrick Griffin. To a casual observer, the man they call Tulu might be just another football player awaiting a kick return. To MSU fans, coaches, and players, Griffin is a highlight waiting to happen.
"Look, that man is different," Mississippi State running back Dillon Johnson says emphatically of Griffin.
Different is a good way to put it. College football is full of talented players, but those capable of producing a game-changing play every single time the ball is in their hands don't come around very often. It's to the point where Griffin is now in that category.
"Every time he's back there, we all know he can take it home any second," Johnson said. "Anytime he touches the ball, he's a home run hitter."
On Saturday against NC State, no one had to wait long for Griffin's latest example of explosiveness. MSU won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. That sent Griffin deep to begin the game. He hauled in the kick right at the goal line and in the blink of an eye, hit a hole around the 15-yard line. Griffin ran through an arm tackle around the 30, escaped another defender trying to drag him down from behind around the 45, then after zigging and zagging around NC State's kicker at midfield, Griffin was home free.
It was just the fifth 100-yard kickoff return in Mississippi State history and the first kickoff MSU has returned for a score in more than six years. Most importantly, it put the Bulldogs in front. They wouldn't trail again the rest of the evening, on the way to an eventual 24-10 win.
"That definitely created some momentum for our team that to be honest with you, I thought we held on to the whole game," MSU head coach Mike Leach said.
Again, Griffin is a gamechanger. He's a momentum-shifter. And it's now seemingly happening game after game after game.
Remember last year's Armed Forces Bowl? Griffin was named the Most Outstanding Player as he racked up the most single-game State kick return yards in eight years (138).
It was no fluke. Griffin carried his big postseason performance right into a new year as he topped his bowl game showing by totaling 144 kick return yards in MSU's season-opener against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 4, then set the tone for Saturday's win against NC State with his game-starting sprint.
For those counting at home, that's three straight games with at least 100 kick return yards. Griffin is now one of only five Bulldogs over the past 30 seasons to post three or more games with 100 or more kick return yards.
So what's next for Griffin and how does he follow all this up? No one knows for sure, however it seems like a good guess that it'll include lots of excitement. But just what makes Griffin so good at what he does?
"He's just got elite speed and when the ball is in his hands, he's amazing with it," MSU receiver Austin Williams said of Griffin. "He can see the holes, make guys miss, run through arm tackles. He's an amazing returner honestly. He makes all the guys block even better on kickoff return. He makes our job easy. He hits the hole and he's electric you know."
Adds Leach: "He's decisive. I've always thought on kickoff return, your best kickoff returner is the guy that can get full speed really fast and is courageous enough to hit the slot that you're trying to create with whatever blocking scheme you have. He's all of that. Then when he gets full momentum on the safety guys, he's good at making them miss while he's full stride."
Or to simplify it all, you can just go with Johnson's description. It's perhaps the best way to sum up the player Griffin has become, and it bears remembering the youngster is just barely over a year into his Bulldog career. The best is surely still to come.
"He gives us confidence. He gives us life. He gives us that spark," Johnson said of Griffin. "When he's back there, he's different. I can definitely say that."
