Former Texas Southern star Derrick Griffin to enter NFL Draft

Former two-sport Texas Southern star Derrick Griffin has left the school’s basketball team to focus on preparing for the NFL, according to a report by the Houston Chronicle.

Griffin was the reigning SWAC Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, All-SWAC First-Team member, and was an honorable mention AP All-American after an impressive 2015-16 campaign.

Griffin had started the first 13 games of the season for the Tigers and was a dominant force in the SWAC once again, averaging 11.3 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. He was dismissed from the Tigers football team after just one game this season, in which he had six catches for 90 yards and one touchdown.

He was named second-team all-SWAC in football and led the conference with 11 touchdown catches in his 2015 freshman season.

A former 5-star football recruit coming out of high school, Griffin was once considered the No. 3 recruit in the nation at wide receiver. He signed to play football at Miami, but was ruled academically ineligible, which is how he landed at Texas Southern.

Griffin has already been removed from the TSU basketball roster as coach Mike Davis and his Tigers are prepared to move on without him.

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The Tigers are 5-9 on the season heading into the start of SWAC play and were considered the preseason favorite to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Griffin’s physical skill set and athleticism is off the charts, but with so much controversy surrounding him during his high school and college career, it will be curious to see what his NFL Draft value will be as we approach draft day in April.