The Original OG
August 16, 2019 | Football, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
Olaijah Griffin will wear No. 2 this season, an ode to some of college's greatest cornerbacks, starting with Deion Sanders.
Olaijah Griffin brings the swag.
That's how fellow cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart summed it up, and that energy shines through when Griffin starts dancing in the locker room. Soon enough, the whole team is dancing, and it brings them closer together.
"When he starts doing something, then everybody will look at him and catch onto his energy, and everybody will end up being on the same energy level," redshirt freshman cornerback Chase Williams said. Â
For Griffin, dancing and football have always come together – once he started playing football, the field became his stage. As the son of famed Long Beach rapper Warren G, music comes naturally to Griffin, who grew up watching his father make beats around the house. Even though he didn't feel any pressure to go into the music industry, he holds on to his interest in it while prioritizing his first love: football.
Griffin fell in love with the game as the water boy for his older brother's Pop Warner team. Now, he's fighting to sit at the top of USC's depth chart and has his sights set on the Thorpe Award and All-American recognition.
"My mindset this year is that I have to go get it," Griffin said. "Because time is ticking, and I don't have that much time left. I have to get what I want to get."
He committed to USC as a five-star prospect out of Mission Viejo High School and played in eight games during his freshman campaign, recording seven tackles, including one for loss, before undergoing two shoulder surgeries in the offseason. But he returned to the football field with fire, grabbing five picks through the first five days of Fall Camp.
"He's done a great job," head coach Clay Helton said. "Really playing good ball right now. [He] had an unbelievable summer, and now it's great to see him play."
When Griffin first got to USC, he felt a buzz around him being Warren G's son. He's also Dr. Dre's nephew, Snoop Dogg's "nephew" and Willie McGinest's godchild. But to Griffin, whose first name was inspired by his great grandmother Ola Mae, those are just people who support him, relationships he can lean on and sources of inspiration.
Even with star-studded people in his corner, Griffin looks inward when it comes to his own success.
"I don't really go to anyone for football stuff," Griffin said. "I just focus on what I'm doing, because I feel like I can make myself better."
Griffin has entertained the idea of joining USC's music school to become a sound engineer. He has also dabbled in acting and entertainment. He is currently a communication major and the first person in his immediate family to go to college – an accomplishment he takes pride in as the older brother to four of his siblings.
"I just feel like my family is proud of me," Griffin said. "And I want to make them proud."
Even with his many talents, Griffin still picks football as his primary focus.
"Football is the number one, on top of everything," Griffin said. "I just feel like it's my destiny. This is the thing I love to do."
That's how fellow cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart summed it up, and that energy shines through when Griffin starts dancing in the locker room. Soon enough, the whole team is dancing, and it brings them closer together.
"When he starts doing something, then everybody will look at him and catch onto his energy, and everybody will end up being on the same energy level," redshirt freshman cornerback Chase Williams said.  For Griffin, dancing and football have always come together – once he started playing football, the field became his stage. As the son of famed Long Beach rapper Warren G, music comes naturally to Griffin, who grew up watching his father make beats around the house. Even though he didn't feel any pressure to go into the music industry, he holds on to his interest in it while prioritizing his first love: football.
Griffin fell in love with the game as the water boy for his older brother's Pop Warner team. Now, he's fighting to sit at the top of USC's depth chart and has his sights set on the Thorpe Award and All-American recognition.
"My mindset this year is that I have to go get it," Griffin said. "Because time is ticking, and I don't have that much time left. I have to get what I want to get."
He committed to USC as a five-star prospect out of Mission Viejo High School and played in eight games during his freshman campaign, recording seven tackles, including one for loss, before undergoing two shoulder surgeries in the offseason. But he returned to the football field with fire, grabbing five picks through the first five days of Fall Camp.
"He's done a great job," head coach Clay Helton said. "Really playing good ball right now. [He] had an unbelievable summer, and now it's great to see him play."
When Griffin first got to USC, he felt a buzz around him being Warren G's son. He's also Dr. Dre's nephew, Snoop Dogg's "nephew" and Willie McGinest's godchild. But to Griffin, whose first name was inspired by his great grandmother Ola Mae, those are just people who support him, relationships he can lean on and sources of inspiration.
Even with star-studded people in his corner, Griffin looks inward when it comes to his own success.
"I don't really go to anyone for football stuff," Griffin said. "I just focus on what I'm doing, because I feel like I can make myself better."
Griffin has entertained the idea of joining USC's music school to become a sound engineer. He has also dabbled in acting and entertainment. He is currently a communication major and the first person in his immediate family to go to college – an accomplishment he takes pride in as the older brother to four of his siblings.
"I just feel like my family is proud of me," Griffin said. "And I want to make them proud."
Even with his many talents, Griffin still picks football as his primary focus.
"Football is the number one, on top of everything," Griffin said. "I just feel like it's my destiny. This is the thing I love to do."
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