Ask either senior linebacker Frankie Griffin or head coach Everett Withers about one of their earliest interactions and they’ll recall the same account.

Two years ago, just before Withers’ first spring camp at Texas State, Griffin complained about a soreness in his knee. The then-redshirt freshman safety sat out 2015 with an injury and with some advice from Withers and the training staff had minor surgery to clean it up.

Admittedly, he was nervous about stepping back on the field, even though his knee felt great. He didn’t exactly feel confident going to the recently hired Withers at the time and asking to skip out on the team’s first big camp session, but asked Withers anyway.

“He looked at me like I was crazy,” Griffin laughed.

Griffin’s nervousness to step back on the field two years ago is a distant memory in both individuals’ minds as the Spring native proved to be Texas State’s most aggressive defensive playmaker his junior season leading the team in tackles for loss (11.5) and finishing second in sacks (four) and third in total tackles (74).

A safety under the previous coaching regime, Withers saw Griffin as an athletic outside linebacker in his 3-4 defense. Undersized, Griffin wasn’t too sure as he entered camp as a third-stringer.

Griffin became an instant standout in practice but was again hindered just before the start of the season with other injuries and didn’t step on the field until midseason. Even after going through more setbacks, he never wavered his commitment to the sport.

“Sometimes I thought about it like that, but I love football too much to give up on it whenever I know I can come back from an injury,” Griffin said. “I was already used to the rehab ... I’ve been through three serious injuries so just battling through that, it wasn’t anything.”

During the 2017 season, Griffin showed what Texas State’s defense had been missing in terms of a downhill player who chased down ball carriers with reckless abandon and who’s only goal was to make something happen. And when new defensive coordinator Chris Woods was interviewing for the job with Withers, he commented primarily on one player looking at the film: Griffin.