FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (June 22, 2022) – With a playing and coaching history that intertwines with a few members of Northern Arizona's coaching staff,
Rudy Griffin takes over as Northern Arizona's defensive line coach for the 2022-23 season.
A graduate of Alabama, Griffin played for the Crimson Tide from 2003 to 2005 when Lumberjacks head coach
Chris Ball, deputy head coach
Bob Connelly and special teams coordinator
Dave Ungerer were all on the staff. Griffin was also a graduate assistant at Washington State when Ball served as the Cougars' defensive coordinator and Ungerer was the special teams coach.
"I think it is a blessing to get in a great conference and come work at a great university," Griffin said. "And not only that, to work with someone I have known forever, and have cherished and had a great relationship with, my family is blessed and it's a great opportunity honestly."
A native of Hephzibah, Georgia, Griffin graduated from Hephzibah High School and spent two years starting on defensive line for The Citadel before deciding to take the leap to Alabama. Walking on to the Crimson Tide in 2003 and redshirting during the fall while spending time on the practice squad, Griffin earned a scholarship and recorded 33 tackles while starting for two seasons at Alabama.
"It's special, very special," Ball said. "I've been trying to hire him for a long time. He was a walk-on for us at Alabama, and ending up earning a scholarship and starting. That says a lot about him. He's a very knowledgeable coach, brings a lot of energy and is a great, great person."
Jumping directly into the coaching ranks following his playing career, Griffin spent time as an assistant at Holy Spirit High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, at Dakota State University in South Dakota, Worth County High School in Georgia and Demopolis High School in Alabama before heading to Washington State in 2010.
After his stop in Pullman, Washington, Griffin landed in the Big Sky Conference for the first time as he spent two years with the Idaho State Bengals. First coaching inside linebackers in 2011, Griffin took over all linebackers in 2012 with Idaho State. After a stop at Navarro College in Texas as a defensive coordinator, Griffin returned to Alabama as an assistant for Division III Birmingham-Southern College. Stops at Hewitt-Trussville High School in Alabama and East Central Community College in Mississippi preceded Griffin taking over as the head coach for Bessemer City High School in Alabama for the 2020 season.
For 2021, Griffin moved to Lowndes High School in his home state of Georgia, where he coached the Vikings' defensive line. In the 2022 recruiting class, Northern Arizona brought in a pair of players from Lowndes, defensive lineman
Ezekiel Duncan and athlete Chase Belcher.
