Oct. 21, 2009

LOGAN, Utah -

By Adam Nettina / USU Athletic Media Relations

Selflessness. Hard work. Team play.

They are the hallmarks of college athletics, or at least they used to be. Before the days of big-time pro contracts, television deals, and multi-million dollar recruiting pitches, there was a day and age when the vast majority of student-athletes played solely for the pride of their school and an unquenchable love for the game.

And while many college football players around the country have fallen victim to the ever increasing business-first outlook of the gridiron, Utah State wide receiver Chase Griffiths remains grounded in his romantic approach to the sport, giving it his all at practice each and every day despite having spent the past four seasons as a walk-on.

Why does he do it? Why does he subject his body to the daily grind of strenuous practice sessions and bone-crunching hits, risking injury day in and day out while all the while knowing his number won't likely be called when it comes time to take the field on Saturday? The answer is one that sounds cliché, but one which Griffiths is more than happy to live by.

"I just love the game," explains the 6-foot-1 senior from Heber City, Utah. "I've learned a lot playing football; not just stuff on the field, but stuff which has helped me out in life. It's just something about the discipline of it and working hard. I don't know what it is, but I just really enjoy it for some reason."

While his love for the game can be described as genuine, Griffiths won't sugarcoat the experience of being a walk-on. Unlike the majority of players on Utah State's roster, his college education is not paid for by the school, and unlike players on the first and second teams, Griffiths has barely seen the field in his five years in Logan. Coupled with the change in coaching staffs, the 28-year old graduate student says that the need to prove himself on the practice field is a daily occurrence and a daily challenge.

"It's tough," says Griffiths, "but I've got to give everything I've got all the time and just try to prove myself everyday. It has been five years of doing it with three different coaching staffs, but I'm just out here still trying to make the team every time."

"It's tough, but it is what drives me," Griffiths adds.

Griffiths' never-say-die attitude and approach to practice hasn't gone unnoticed. While few Aggie fans may be able to name #13 without the help of a game program, Utah State offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin says that the former Wasatch High School star has been instrumental in not only helping Utah State's younger receivers, but also in setting a positive tempo and example for the practice environment.

"Chase has the best mental attitude of anybody out here. He understands his role as a player, communicates to the other guys what they are doing on the field and he watches them like a coach," Baldwin says.

Utah State's offensive coordinator adds that, "He's mature and he provides leadership. Even though he may not be doing it on the field, sometimes it is about the verbal leadership, and that is what he is all about."

For his part, Griffiths is modest when it comes to his role as a mentor, seeing his assistance to Utah State's wide receivers as just part of the job description of being a veteran.

"I'm just trying to help them out," Griffiths says. "Even for other guys we've had in the past. I see a guy who might play over me, but if I can give him a pointer or something that can help him get better -- even if it might help him move in front of me - I realize that is what I've got to do."

Aside from helping to teach Utah State's younger receivers the ins and outs of playing the game at the college level, one of Griffiths' responsibilities over the past four seasons has been to simulate opposing teams' wide receivers as a member of Utah State's scout team. Each week during practice, scout team players will run various plays with the intention of preparing Utah State's starters for the next game. It can be a hard, physical task which is often overlooked by the fans who see only the final product of the first team play on gameday. But simulating the opposition is an essential chore and one which Griffiths feels strongly about.

"If our starters don't get a good look then they will get kind of lackadaisical with stuff, so they need to see guys running and going full speed instead of giving a half effort," explains Griffiths.

Confined almost exclusively to the practice field during his career in Logan, Griffiths worked his way up from the scout team into the backup receiver lineup just in time for the conclusion of the 2008 season. It was in last year's final game, a 47-2 blowout win over New Mexico State, in which he made his first career catch. To the fans filing out of Romney Stadium on that cold November day, the catch may not have meant much, but for Griffiths it was the culmination of four years of hard work.

"It was pretty intense. I was a little nervous going out there, but it just kind of happened naturally," Griffiths reflects. "All the practice I put in just rolled over into the catch, and I didn't think too much of it. I was happy, but at the same time I knew that was what I was here for - to catch the ball as a receiver."

So why does he do it? Why not just throw in the towel and say that it has been a good run, but that it is finally time to move onto the next stage in his life? According to his coach, it's for one last chance to play the game he loves, and one last go-around to make an impact for the team he cherishes.

"I think walk-ons understand that in the game of football, very few get to quit the game itself, but that it quits them more often," explains Baldwin, reflectively.

"Chase has one last year left to play, and that's why I think he is playing. He understands that when he is 30 he can't come back. This is his last year so he came back to experience it for the last time and hopefully we can take him to another level by the end of the season."