Griese’s toughness and surprising speed impressing coaches

By Jerry Ratcliffe

With a grandfather in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, an uncle currently working as a quarterbacks coach in the NFL and a dad who played the sport at Virginia, one might conclude that current Wahoo running back Jack Griese grew up with a pigskin in his hands.

Not so.

Instead, young Jack grew up a baseball player and didn’t pick up football until his junior year at Chantilly (Va.) High School. Oh, sure, he would come to UVA games with his parents, would hang out with kids his age on The Hill at Scott Stadium, would visit The Lawn, but no football until it was the right time.

And when it was the right time, Jack was hooked. He played enough at running back for Chantilly that he decided to be a walk-on at UVA. Now, heading into his third year of football, he’s getting noticed for his football toughness.

Jack’s parents, Jennifer and Scott Griese (both Virginia graduates), had a rule that he couldn’t play football until high school. Still, it wasn’t until his junior season that he decided to give it a try and pulled away from baseball. He was good enough at Chantilly his final year that he was second-team all-state as an all-purpose back.

“My parents and the rest of the family never pressured me into anything for sports,” Griese said after a recent practice. “I was primarily a baseball player, so they weren’t trying to pressure me into anything. They wanted me to do what I wanted to do and be happy. When I decided to play football, they were ecstatic.”

Scott Griese played defensive back at UVA. He came from strong football roots. Scott’s father — Jack’s grandfather — is the legendary Bob Griese, a star quarterback for Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins. He’s got a bust in Canton. Jack’s uncle, Brian Griese, is quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers.

“Sometimes I’ll get on YouTube and watch videos of my grandfather,” Jack said. “That was such a long time ago, a different era. The Dolphins were mostly a rush offense (with Jim Kiick and Larry Csonka). All running.

“So I was told [his grandpa] was a scrambler, so I would watch film of him. He has pictures in his office and at his house and he’ll tell me, like, ‘Yeah, on this play, I got blown up.’ It’s great listening to his stories and just watching film of him because I’ve always known him as my grandfather. Seeing him a different aspect is pretty cool.”

Also pretty cool is that Jack Griese is getting lots of action in training camp. He broke off a 34-yard touchdown run in the team’s scrimmage last Friday, and with so few backs with experience on the roster, he has a chance to play.

Last season, he had only 11 rushing attempts for a total of 34 yards, including 6 carries for 15 yards against Tennessee in the opener. He had a 1-yard TD run at Louisville. He also busted up his shoulder, which resulted in offseason surgery and forced him to sit out the spring.

TOUCHDOWN HOOS!!! Jack Griese scores on 4th & 1, his first career TD!

📺: @ESPN | #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/Pv8D52LN9r

— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) November 10, 2023

While he couldn’t participate physically, he worked on his game mentally — watching tons of film, better learning the playbook, watching every practice — which helped him improve in a different manner.

He has definitely caught the collective eyes of the offensive coaches, particularly offensive coordinator Des Kitchings.

“He’s kind of an old-school guy,” Kitchings said of Griese. “He’s got a brace here, he’s got an elbow guard here, but he just keeps grinding it out.

“Everybody likes flashy and run the wild plays from running back, but you know what I love? I love those dirty runs… a two-yard run that becomes a five-yard run, a physical run, because over time that impacts the defense and keeps us out of third-and-longs.

“Jack is a guy who shows up every day and he’s battled, regardless of how he feels. He’s putting it on the line every day and we’re going to need him. He’s earned our trust as a player in this program.”

Griese is giving it all he’s got, trying to help give Kitchings’ offense a potent running attack.

“I mean, we have a lot of great running backs — Noah Vaughn, Xavier Brown, Kobe Pace, Donte Hawthorne — and we just push each other,” Griese said. “It’s a grueling camp and we’ve got to get through it. We’re all getting our bodies nicked up, but we’re just trying to carry our brother when he gets hurt. You’ve got to step up when you’re called on.

“I’m just running hard, just trying to not do too much, just follow my technique and improve, get one percent better every day and show that I’m coachable.”

While he’s bigger than some of his fellow backs at 6-foot, 215 pounds, don’t let the size fool you. Tony Elliott mentioned that he was a bit surprised by Griese displaying some speed. Elliott’s surprise actually surprised Griese.

“I’m a little surprised because people don’t think I’m very fast,” Griese said. “But I think I’m pretty fast. I ran a pretty fast 40. I’ve got some speed and some jukes in me, so hopefully I’ll be able to showcase that.”

Elliott also mentioned that Griese has pretty good hands, too, so that adds another dimension to his game.

The shoulder injury essentially kept him off the field for seven months, missing the entire spring, and so it required him an adjustment early in August training camp. The first couple of days brought out the rust, but he quickly got back in his groove from there, and hasn’t slowed down since.

His mental work in the spring showed up quickly in camp and he’s just now “getting” football. Remember, he didn’t play the game until his junior year in high school, so he had a lot to learn about the game once he came to Virginia and started to get tons of coaching. Griese said in high school, he just relied on his athleticism — get the ball, run to the corner and get all you could get. It’s not that easy in college football.

“It’s about getting better day by day, practice by practice, just trying to upgrade my game as much as possible,” Griese said. “This camp has definitely helped me do that. Every rep I get, every look at the defense, it just advances my game.”

He gets plenty of encouragement from his family, and his parents’ entire fall schedule is centered around UVA football since his dad has already retired.

“They already have all their hotels booked, no matter where it is,” Griese chuckled.

Perhaps his parents will see that old-school ruggedness, some maybe inherited from Grandpa Griese, pay off in some quality playing time this fall.