The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Michael and Marcus Griffin: Bowie High homecoming
10.18.2006 | Football
Texas' Griffin twins, Michael and Marcus, are two of the lucky few who are able to play their college football in the same town where they went to high school. Both starred for Austin's Bowie High School before emerging as stars for the Texas Longhorns. They got a chance to go back to Bowie on Monday as the subjects of a press conference held for Bowie students involved in the broadcast and journalism program.
"There has been a renewed interest in journalism," said the program head Donna Marie Miller. "My program is bigger now than it has ever been. I have 60 kids in newspaper and 30 kids in broadcast. We're trying to model the professionals by staging a press conference and it is `College Day' of our homecoming week, so it is appropriate that two of our alums are joining us."
To that end, the Griffins served as guinea pigs for the students involved in the journalism program. They gave the members of the school paper and TV channel a chance to interview a high-profile athlete, while spreading the message that, as a high school student, you never know what you may become. It's all a matter of hard work.
"To me, I think it is a big deal to help out in the community," explained Marcus Griffin, a junior free safety, who is currently third on the team in tackles with 36. "I really enjoyed my time at Bowie, so to be able to come back and help out in any way is nice. I never would have thought I'd be in a position to do something like this, so if I can help them, I'm more than willing."
Marcus answered a few questions about how he got where he was, explaining that he walked-on at Texas for two seasons before earning a scholarship at the beginning of the 2005 season.
"There were a lot of things I didn't know when I was in high school, like how to earn a scholarship or what a walk-on even was," he added. "But, now I have a scholarship and am playing for and going to one of the best universities in the country. I wanted to let them know that anything is possible with hard work."
The press conference, which Miller moderated, gave Kyle Robinson, who writes for the school newspaper, and Valerie Cuellar, who was representing the school's TV station, a chance to interview a National Champion; not something that everyone gets to do.
"I've been in the business for 21 years and have never had the chance to interview a National Champion," said Miller. "I think it is a great experience for these kids as they put together a portfolio."
"I think it is an honor that they would want to come back to Bowie for this," said Robinson. "We know that they are great players, but this shows what kind of people they are."
The Q&A session lasted about 30 minutes and the Griffins answered everything from `"How much does being brothers help on the field?" to "What is your favorite food?"
"Marcus and I spend a lot of time being asked questions by the media," said Michael, UT's leading tackler with 62. "I thought the kids who asked a bulk of the questions seemed really prepared and they asked a wide variety of questions. I had a good time and I hope we helped them out."
