Corona del Mar High's Tommy Griffin commits to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo football

By Matt SzaboStaff Writer

Sept. 22, 2020 4:22 PM PT

Tommy Griffin has leadership qualities, as part of what Corona del Mar High School football coach Dan O’Shea calls the Sea Kings’ royal family.

Griffin’s father, John, is the program’s director of football operations and head coach of the freshman team, which has five perfect 10-0 seasons in the last decade. Griffin’s older brother, Charlie, was a safety on the 2013 CdM team that won CIF Southern Section Southern Division and CIF State Division III titles.

Tommy Griffin already has a similar resume. Last year as a junior safety, he helped the Sea Kings win CIF Southern Section Division 3 and CIF State Division 1-A titles. The 2019 team joined the 2013 team with a perfect 16-0 record.

Griffin has now made his college choice. He has verbally committed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he said Tuesday.

“I can kind of be far away, but still be close,” Griffin said of deciding to play on the Central Coast. “I really enjoyed what the coaching staff said, how they’d use me and where they think this program is going. It’s a really great place to be.”

O’Shea said that Griffin had 10 Division I offers, and Griffin said he chose Cal Poly over other programs he was strongly considering like San Jose State, UC Davis and Nevada. He is the second class of 2021 Sea King to commit to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, joining offense lineman Jake Trachtman.

Lineman Thomas Bouda (Army) and tight end Scott Giuliano (Harvard) are the other current CdM football commits.

There’s a reason why O’Shea calls Griffin, a first-team All-Sunset League and first-team Daily Pilot Dream Team selection, the best safety in program history by the time he graduates.

He had 64 tackles, three tackles for a loss and three interceptions as a junior, as well as a penchant for big plays. Griffin’s last interception, with two seconds left in the fourth quarter, sealed the Sea Kings’ 35-27 win over San Mateo Serra for the state championship.

Griffin knows that some will doubt the Sea Kings, who lost a bevy of offensive starters, this year. But he is ready to compete.

“I think this team has the potential to go back-to-back and win state [again],” he said. “I think this is going to be the toughest defense CdM has ever had. We’re going to shock a lot of people, and I think we’re a really good football team.”