Griffin Wilde catches the imagination (and football) at Jefferson

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - If you’re looking intense and deadly serious demeanor, Griffin Wilde won’t be for you.

“Game face is not really me! Football is a fun thing. I smile on the field, I’m having fun out there. Taking it serious is definitely important but cracking a smile on the field, I think that’s more me.” Wilde says.

And it took him a while to be seen. In many ways Griffin grew with the first year Jefferson Cavalier program after getting his feet wet in varsity football as a sophomore at Roosevelt.

“I don’t think we realized how good he was probably until about June of last year when we went to SDSU camp. But he just gets in and out of routes really fast, he’s got good hands, he’s really smart and he’s a really special player.” Jefferson Head Coach Vince Benedetto says.

Soon Wilde would be impossible to miss, unless of course you were an oncoming tackler.

He hauled in 54 passes for more than 900 yards and 14 touchdowns to go along with three kick return scores in his junior year.

“High balls I think are definitely my strongest point in my game. Being able to go up and get the ball I think that’s a strong point for me. Last year my goal was 1500 all-purpose yards so I think this year I got to step it up and try to get 2,000 all-purpose yards.” Griffin says.

A top athlete on the hardwood and track, Griffin has been even better this year, leading the Cavaliers to a perfect record, and commiting to play college football at South Dakota State.

“It’s always been a goal of mine to play college ball, that’s for sure, but seeing offers and that hard work really does pay off, it’s really cool.” Wilde says.

“His top end speed is pretty good. I think probably the biggest thing is he gets in and out of his cuts so fast. When college coaches look at receivers they want to see can you stop and how fast can you get back to full speed and I think that’s what Griffin does really well.” Benedetto says.

Where he’s likely to continue his eye popping play!

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