Stanford steals one from Cal

We had been hearing for the past couple of weeks that Modesto (Calif.) defensive lineman Levirt Griffin was not solid with his commitment to Cal and could end up announcing for Stanford sooner rather than later. That is exactly what has happened as the Cardinal have one of the top defensive ends in the West region as part of their class.

Griffin, 6-4, 250 pounds originally committed to the Bears back in the summer in what was a nice coup for Cal. At the time of his commitment, Griffin was one of the hottest recruits in the region and was seemingly racking up new offers by the day.

After camping with the Bears, Griffin decided to end the process and made a summer decision.

"I just feel like this is the best place for me," Griffin said at the time. "I really enjoyed working with these coaches at the camp and I'm comfortable with the school and love the academics."

Griffin's decision appeared solid but the athlete said after visiting Stanford a couple of times, that the Farm was just a better overall fit for him.

"It wasn't anything against Cal," Griffin said. "Cal is a great school but I just felt more comfortable at Stanford and with the guys on the team there. I had to have my application approved first and once it was, I knew Stanford was the place for me.

"I actually told the Stanford coaches awhile back I was coming, basically right around the time my application was approved. I didn't want to say anything publicly though until I could tell the Cal coaches. They knew I was looking around a bit, I told them I was having some second thoughts during the season so they were prepared for it.

"I'm just happy about my decision right now. Stanford is a great school and academically, offers so much. Cal does as well but the main thing for me was just going where I felt like I would be the most comfortable. I always got a special feeling when I was at Stanford that I didn't get elsewhere and that was really the major reason for my changing my commitment."

Griffin is a talented rush end who we actually feel could make the move to tackle if he's able to put on the weight. He has a very good frame and plays more like a tackle than an end. He's very strong and plays the run as good as any defensive end we've seen in the state this year, especially when teams run at him.