FSP’s Marcus Griffin talks Michigan recruiting, Albert Karschnia connection
Marcus Griffin and a plethora of high school prospects who train with Ford Sports Performance flew into Ann Arbor the morning of last season's Washington game on a red eye.
Exhausted and eyes half closed from the time zone change couldn't outmatch the excitement that everyone on the plane bolstered about being on the field at the biggest college football stadium in the world.
Being apart of something that couldn't be replicated in their home state of Washington.
Driving into campus, the group saw the miles of tailgates situated on the parking lots and fields surrounding the Big House, and the number of people sporting maize and blue to cheer on their favorite program.
"That was a great experience for our kids to see," Griffin told The Maize and Blue Review. "All of the love that the Michigan fans expressed. They want you there, they need you there, and want to support you. Fans do matter and make the experience. To go somewhere where the fan dynamic is where it's at Michigan is out of this world."
It gave the players at FSP the indication that they could be the ones who are being supported by the millions of Michigan admirers and that they could be the ones wearing the winged helmet every Saturday.
For a teenager growing up in the Pacific Northwest with a love of football, playing for the Wolverines might be a pipe dream, but thanks to Griffin and the rest of the organizers at FSP, that ambition has turned into a well planned reality thanks to longtime connections.
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Griffin graduated from college and retired from football after stints with both Arizona and Central Michigan. A career in corporate sales wasn't enough to fulfill Griffin's life out of the game and saw an opportunity to reunite with his old high school strength and conditioning coach.
FSP CEO and founder Tracy Ford had his operation running for close to nine years before Griffin climbed aboard last year to pursue his own dream of working with recruits in the state of Washington through on the field development and off the field guidance.
Griffin was once a heralded athlete from the Seattle-Tacoma area himself, so by giving back to those who are going through the same process as he did right now, it means he's doing the right thing as FSP's director of development.
"(My position) regards to everything about the student-athlete on-and-off the field," Griffin said. "I'm not a coach, I'm just someone in like a support role. Guys who have questions about life or what's going on in the world, I'll answer to the best of my ability.
"If they have questions about recruiting, I'll just take them through my experiences and show them what's going on now. Kind of giving a real similar situation that they can go off of. It's kind of hard to put into words. It's just a variety of different things that pertain to the athlete and help them wherever on-and-off the field."
Ford Sports Performance is an NFL certified training facility based in Seattle. Like other development organizations nationwide like SoundMind SoundBody in Detroit or National Players Academy in Nashville, FSP is designed to train the young mind of student-athletes.
Every high school has aspirations of making it to the next level and that's where programs like FSP come in to provide resources and opportunities that might not be available if they weren't around.
At FSP, athletes receive high level coaching from guys who played in college and the NFL, exposed to others who have going through a similar journey, and get academic assistance in tutoring and transcript sending. Basically, it's a remedy for holding high schoolers accountable. Building up well-rounded young men who are ready to enter the real world.
"It's huge, man, huge," Griffin said. "Tracy, in particular, is all about investing into these kids. Giving them life, giving them energy, and support. Giving them positives words of affirmation and is all about the growth and development of these kids. He'll give them every opportunity in front of them to make sure it happens.
"Having guest speakers like Bobby Wagner and Danny Shelton. There has been a ton of guys who came through FSP and trained with us. We go through our network of guys and try to have them send a special message to our players or have them come talk to our players at a convention. Just to let them know how fortunate those players are to be in this situation."
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Despite the distance from Ann Arbor, FSP has built a close relationship with the Michigan football staff in recent years.
Establishing a partnership between FSP and a high profile program like the Wolverines was part of the former's goal in branching out for athletes in the academy to experience the wonders of college football outside of the Pacific Northwest.
Griffin first met former Michigan director of player personnel Courtney Morgan through a mutual friend. Morgan, who at the time was on Jim Harbaugh's staff, had an array of west coast ties and strengthened that link in the state of Washington through FSP.
Morgan was instrumental in getting FSP to Ann Arbor for the nationally broadcasted night game against the Huskies. For most of the players, it was their first time being apart of an electric atmosphere like Michigan, with over 100,000 screaming fans chanting the fight song and singing along to “Mr. Brightside.”
Now, with Morgan having left Michigan to join the Washington staff, the talks between FSP and the Wolverines remained constant. Possibly even more sustained with Albert Karschnia as the head of recruiting operations.
"We had a good connection through (Morgan)," Griffin said. "We got out there for the game against Washington and got to see with our own eyes with a bunch of kids. We just fell in love with the atmosphere.
"When Courtney left and Albert replaced him – when it happened – I was fired up and excited to get the relationship moving again. It's been nothing but great so far. All love and respect coming from both sides. I think we're going to try to get out there this summer but ultimately it's just been us trying to build that pipeline to Ann Arbor."
Griffin has known Karschnia back in their days at Central Michigan. Griffin was a graduate transfer from Arizona and it was Karschnia who helped recruit him to Mount Pleasant as the Chippewas' director of player personnel. With Griffin returning to the game from corporate sales, their conversations never wavered once Karschnia switched positions.
"I think Albert and I talk almost every day," Griffin said. "We're in a couple of group chats right now with some people who are fun and energetic. So it's always fun to see what those guys are sending and it's great to see some stuff that I want to learn from them.
"It's always awesome to connect with Albert and just get his opinions. He's a really undervalued mind. The way he sees what's going on with recruits is impressive. Look at the guys who got drafted from CMU, those are all his guys, who were all recruited and scouted by him. That says a whole lot about his work ethic and his evaluation process, which he'll continue to do (at Michigan)."
Karschnia has taken upon himself to make the state of Washington and FSP one of the priority targets for Michigan's recruiting efforts. Obviously, it's helped with his friendship with Griffin but it's also finding athletes who are vying to play for something bigger than themselves.
"Albert is someone who can adapt to what's going on," Griffin said. "Obviously, with everything being how it is now, he'll take a new approach and guide people who are maybe a little uneasy with this new era. Or break down something like the (transfer) portal and explain it in order to make it accessible for everyone. Albert understands and knows what people need and will help with that."
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The perception of kids from this new generation that's vastly different from older age groups is that they are more worldly and more prone to exploring outside their boundaries for something new.
That especially pertains to football recruiting where athletes in the Pacific Northwest are willing to see what's available outside of the PAC 12 or Mountain West Conference. With Michigan recruiting on a more national approach, taking advantage of that enlightened feeling and bringing recruits to campus for visits and meetings will pay dividends down the road.
"Kids have more interest elsewhere and are excited to see something that's not familiar to them," Griffin said. "It's like a touch-and-see thing. They got to touch and see Michigan when we were there. All schools provide great experiences but some are just out of this world. You just have to go to some of these places in order to experience the atmosphere.
"I can say a good majority of this 2023 class will be leaving (Washington). You look at kids from the 2022 class, there were a lot who left as well. I think the new trend is to explore something different than your own state. For me, it gave me a lot of perspective when I did it. It made me mature and grow more than I would have had I stayed home."
In regards to the 2023 class, Michigan has done its work with staying in close touch with players like Rivals100 four-star cornerback Caleb Presley, who added the Wolverines to his top 12 back in April. Others like Rivals250 four-star running back Jayden Limar have put Michigan in his top nine in March and three-star tight end Kade Eldridge who recently visited unofficially in late-March.
That's just a microcosm of Michigan's image entrusted onto high profile athletes from FSP.
"We have a lot of different kids who are being recruited by a lot of different schools," Griffin said. "But I know a couple of kids like Caleb, Jayden, and Landen Hatchett who have all expressed a lot of interest in Michigan. I know Caleb has voiced to myself and the other coaches that he's been wanting to get out and see (Michigan) with his own eyes.
"We also have a plethora of 2024's who have been up (to Ann Arbor) and they got to see everything and fell in love with it. I mean, how could you not love that environment? The biggest stadium in college football."
Griffin, who spent almost a year living in mid-Michigan in 2018 while playing for CMU, couldn't compare his time at Mount Pleasant to what he and the rest of FSP saw in Ann Arbor. But for Griffin to be acquainted with a portion of the Mitten has certainly given FSP athletes a unique tie.
"It's kind of hard to give a similar situation into what these kids are experiencing when going to Ann Arbor," Griffin said. "It's very different than Mount Pleasant. Ann Arbor is a mini huge city in of itself. When I went there for the first time, I was surprised with how big it was. It didn't feel like we were at Michigan, it felt like we were back in the west coast."
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