Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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where have you gone? and walked away from the game rather than enter the NFL Draft the following spring. Griffith said he's confident he had the talent to play at the next level if he pushed himself, but he had long since decided he had no desire for a professional football career. "It was just never a goal of mine. Even going into college it was just never a goal of mine," Griffith said. "I played against the best kids in the country, and they'd go on in the NFL and become Hall of Famers. I was fine with that. I was fine with the path I was taking, which was to go to law school." The former Academic All-American graduated from Notre Dame's law school four years later and moved back to Ohio to work with Porter Wright, a Columbus-based law firm. Since then, he's filled his competitive void — and aided his climb to become a partner at Porter Wright — by playing golf. Griffith's new love started as a way to meet some of the higher-ups at his new job. At 6-3, 240 pounds and a former big-time college athlete, he had the power to keep up with some of the more seasoned golfers around the office when he first started and soon after became addicted to the game. Golf trips have taken him to more places than his football career, even though he did once play a bowl game in Japan. He's made trips across the country and to Scotland and Ireland all in the name of golf. The athletic outlet helped keep Griffith from ever regretting his decision to step away from football when he did. He worked his handicap down into the low single digits and has played in some club matches as well as constantly competing with friends on the course. "Golf became a real passion and a real enjoyment, and it still is today," he said. "It's a great way to spend time with people and meet people, and a great way to travel. It's always a lot of fun." Griffith came to Notre Dame in 1978 on the heels of an Irish national championship. He was the most recent Notre Dame player to graduate from Archbishop Alter in Kettering, Ohio, before freshman quarterback Malik Zaire joined the team in February. And he was the last of a 26-man class to receive his scholarship offer that year. Assistant coach Brian Boulac called Griffith's house on the eve of National Signing Day to try to talk the defensive lineman into a last minute change. Griffith planned to sign a letter of intent to play for Virginia the following morning. He said he took a long walk to evaluate his new option and eventually decided he would give Notre Dame a shot. In doing so, Griffith may have been one of the first players to flip-flop on National Signing Day, starting a situation that now often sends some of Notre Dame's most diehard fans into frantic emotional tailspins annually on the first Wednesday of February. "Virginia was awful at football at the time, but I was in love with the school," Griffith said. "I was ready to go there, but then I got the offer from Notre Dame. I remember thinking I get all the academics, and I get