Calhoun kicker Adam Griffith didn't exactly grow up as a college football fan.
But starting next fall, he'll suit up for Alabama.
Given his background, Griffith's road to Tuscaloosa is almost hard to believe.
Adam Griffith was born in Poland, and seeing him sign a college football scholarship on Wednesday was pretty amazing.
"I grew up in an orphanage. I never even thought. Never had a thought about coming to a different country to be a kicker. I always played soccer."
But Griffith was adopted, and he arrived in Calhoun in junior high, where his leg got plenty of attention.
"Came over here and starting playing soccer. My soccer coach told the football coach that I had a strong leg. Got me out of P.E. one time, and I kicked a 40-yarder with my tennis shoes on."
It wasn't long before Calhoun coach Hal Lamb put Griffith in a football game.
"First football game he saw, he kicked in in the 8th grade."
Griffith committed to Alabama when he was a junior, thanks in part to Nick Saban.
"He's straight forward. He's a good guy. I like him a lot. He's a big part of why I committed over there. I want to play for the best."
Griffith then got a taste of big time college football when he attended the Game of the Century last November between Alabama and LSU.
Said Lamb,"He went to the first LSU-Alabama game this year where they had struggles with the kicker. I think he finally felt some of the pressure that, when he was walking out of the stadium, he heard what people were saying about the kicking situation at Alabama."
But Griffith seemed to handle the pressure well in the state title game last month against Buford. He kicked a 32-yarder to win the game in overtime.
Coach Lamb believes Griffith will enjoy early success in Tuscaloosa.
"I feel certain that he'll definitely win the kickoff job because that's what the coaches were disappointed in with their season about how deep the kickoffs were going."
