After just one full season with the Roadrunners, running back Rocko Griffin announced on X that he would enter the portal as a graduate transfer. Griffin, in his fifth season of collegiate football, spent his first three seasons at Vanderbilt University before transferring to UTSA in 2023.
This announcement comes at a low point for UTSA football, with the program coming off its fourth loss in six games, UTSA’s worst start to a season under coach Jeff Traylor. Griffin began the season as the third option at running back, playing behind single-digit teammates Kevorian Barnes and Robert Henry Jr. As the season progressed, redshirt freshman Brandon High Jr. began to take a majority of snaps over Griffin. If fans needed any further proof that playing time was why Griffin entered the portal, he took to X, in a now-deleted tweet, to speak on the situation: “I have no more redshirts. [I] essentially wasted a year on the field due to not being played.”
In 2023, Griffin finished third in rushing behind Barnes and Henry Jr. with 91 attempts for 483 yards and six touchdowns. He led the running back room in yards per attempt with 5.3 and averaged 40.3 yards per game. This season, Griffin has attempted just 17 rushes for 44 yards and zero touchdowns, putting him on pace to rush for a measly 110 yards through a full season.
Though you never want to see a talented player exit the program, UTSA will be just fine at the running back position. The aforementioned High Jr. will slot right in as running back No.3 for the Roadrunners.
Since Griffin entered the portal, he has already heard from Tulane University, Georgia State University, Florida Atlantic University, University of Arizona and Duke University, according to sources at On3.
Griffin will get a fresh start on a new team and UTSA will continue to try and right the ship and salvage what’s left of the 2024 season.
