McGriff Making a Name, Again

April 8, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release

Over the years, the University of Florida has produced an impressive list of star-quality AFL athletes. The Orlando Predators have found another – offensive specialist TRAVIS MCGRIFF.

After four seasons with the NFL's Denver Broncos, McGriff has garnered much attention in the AFL as the newest member of the Predators, including talk as a top candidate for Rookie of the Year honors. Already, he has been named the AFL's Rookie of the Month for February and March 2003. Among the League' s scoring leaders (No. 6, 140 points), the Florida product has reined in 55 catches for 933 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. He has returned 42 kickoffs for 684 yards and one score. McGriff will test his talents this Friday against one of the League's premier defenses when Orlando (6-4) hosts the Buffalo Destroyers (4-6) at 7:30 p.m. (ET) inside TD WaterHouse Centre, a.k.a. "The Jungle.

McGriff comes from a family of former Florida Gators. His grandfather JACK excelled at track in Gainesville; his father LEE was an All-America wide receiver at Florida; and his cousins MARK (football and baseball) and PERRY (football) were also Gator standouts in their respective sports.

"There was never any pressure, as far as I was concerned, that this is where you go. We have a big family and almost everybody is in Gainesville," McGriff said. "You grow up around it. You go to the games. It becomes entrenched in your mind as you're growing up. Not everyone goes to Florida, but it sure does seem that a whole bunch of us have.

McGriff's Florida career is one of which his family can be proud. In his senior season (1998), McGriff grabbed a season-best 70 receptions for 1,357 yards (SEC and Florida record) and a season-high 10 touchdowns. His performance earned him First Team All-SEC honors and made him a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award. He is ninth on the Gators' all-time career receiving yardage list (2,057) and is tied for No. 10 on Florida's career reception list (123). He played in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl and started in the 1998 Citrus Bowl and 1999 Orange Bowl.

McGriff's wide receivers coach at Florida was former Gator and Arena Football Hall of Famer DWAYNE DIXON (wide receiver/defensive back, 1987-1991), whose connection to the McGriff family runs deep. McGriff's father, Lee, was Dixon's coach at Florida in the early 80s.

"Having played in the Arena Football League myself, I know the guys who are in it are playing because they love and understand the game. Travis is one of those guys who has a real passion for what he is doing," said Dixon, Florida's current assistant head coach. "Travis comes from a good home. Many of the lessons his father taught while coaching me I was able to pass down to Travis. I still continue to teach many of those lessons to athletes today at the University of Florida.

But McGriff didn't start his football career catching passes. He got his start by throwing them as a quarterback – and occasional defensive back – at Gainesville's PK Yonge High, where he earned Third Team All-America honors as senior.

McGriff was courted as a quarterback by various schools – including Kentucky and Arkansas. Pursuing his goal to make football not only his passion but also his profession, he decided that a position change was in order.

"There aren't that many 5-foot-8 drop-back quarterbacks. It became apparent to me that I wasn't going to be big enough to be a quarterback," he said. "I was either going to be a defensive back or a receiver. My dad was a receiver and coached receivers (at Florida), so I certainly had an orientation to that position.

Just a short two-hour drive from his home in Gainesville, McGriff welcomed the opportunity to become an AFL receiver in Orlando with the opportunity to play close to his family and on national television.

"I'm not doing this because I want to go to the NFL again. This is a great League. There are good players that play in the AFL," he said. "It's really – from a receiver's perspective – maybe even more fun because of the limited running game. The ball is always in the air and there's constant excitement. It's fun and I'm having fun doing it.

With AFL standouts like JAY GRUDEN and CORY FLEMING as his instructors, McGriff has quickly learned the intricacies of Arena Football.

"The angles of the game are so different. On the 100-yard field, you have space to create space. If you have to separate from a defender, you have a plenty of room to do it," McGriff said. "Here, the dimensions are so small and you don't have time to create that separation – obviously the quarterback gets rid of the ball faster, so you also have to find the ball in the air quicker.

The 26-year-old rookie was also surprised by the physicality of Arena Football.

"You get much more beat up here in this game than I ever did in a college game or an NFL game. It's a much more aggressive game," he said. "As a receiver and kick returner, you touch the ball more in Arena Football than elsewhere – and get that many more opportunities to get hit. Plus, you're dealing with a wall and playing on that hard, turf surface.

McGriff, who gets into gameday mode by listening to Metallica during warm-ups every weekend, has become a fan favorite in Orlando for his high-flying, circus-like catches on field and his off-field charisma. But what he wants to give Predators' fans are more wins.

"We have to focus," he said. "Everybody needs to take a little on themselves to do (their) part and step it up a notch better than last week. If we do that, we will be really hard to beat.

Having demonstrated a positive attitude and star-quality athleticism, McGriff will continue to be mentioned with Florida alums Dixon, Odom and Burnett, who all share something the young rookie has yet to taste -- an ArenaBowl title. And as the drive to ArenaBowl XVII continues, McGriff has his eye on the feast.

Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 8, 2003

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• McGriff Making a Name, Again - AFL I
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• Kubiak & Burks Share AFL Offensive Player of the Week Honors - Dallas Desperados
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