Tech LB Griffin one BIG daddy

Griffin also is a student who needs only a few more hours to graduate.

Griffin also is a husband, married to Ashlyn, who is working on a double-major at Georgia State when she's not working the night shift at a local convenience store.

And yes, Griffin and Ashlyn have a 1-year-old.

It's a lot of responsibility packed into one day.

"It's tough, very tough at times," Griffin said, describing everything he and his wife are doing. "I pray and keep everything on the line."

Ashlyn's day isn't any easier.

She's working on degrees in finance and accounting at Georgia State. She has classes in the early afternoon, Monday through Thursday. She comes home and takes care of Jordyn and then picks up Sedric after football practice. After a few hours of family time, she's off to the QuikTrip in Buckhead from 10 p.m.- 7 a.m. She grew up in Decatur, so her mom helps out with Jordyn, which makes things easier. Ashlyn works because she wants to pay off her student loans before she graduates.

"I want to be a CPA; he wants football," Ashlyn said. "We really want to reach our goals, so we never stop. After Jordyn came, there's no room for failure. We have to make it for her. We're not going to stop."

The Griffins live in Tech's family housing off 10th street near the TBS campus. They met about a mile away when they were freshmen. Sedric said he was walking around the dormitories on Techwood that used to be Georgia State's when he saw her. He sidled up and said "Hey, cutie."

Yes, it worked. "I guess I didn't look too bad," he joked.

But he almost blew it.

In the middle of their first date, he dozed off. And it was an action movie. What must Ashlyn have thought?

He had told her before they went out that he was tired from football practice. So, when she looked over, just as "300″ was about to get good, and saw him with his head back and his eyes closed, she gave him the benefit of the doubt.

It turns out she made the right call.

They fell in love and were married at the Fulton County Courthouse last summer. They wore jeans and nice shirts. A spaghetti dinner at an Italian restaurant in midtown served as the reception. The big wedding will come when they are done with school. Someplace warm, she says.

Neither say they miss the single life. Sedric said, despite the hours it takes to succeed at football and as a management major, he knew what he wanted. So did she.

"I don't miss it," Ashlyn said. "Once you meet that person, there's really no need because there's a lot of stuff going on that's pretty negative. I actually enjoy the things that you do once you're married. It's a sense of value. I value the times that me, Sedric and Jordyn spend together a lot more. That's better, too."

The weekends, after the games, is family time. They'll go out to eat. After they come home from Bobby Dodd Stadium, they'll put some music on and Sedric will dance with Jordyn, who was named after Michael Jordan, Sedric's favorite athlete when he was growing up. Jordyn has good rhythm, according to her "uncles," teammates Dominique Reese and Osahon Tongo. After she goes to sleep, Sedric and Ashlyn will study. Sometimes they play video games or watch a movie. Soon, it's a new day.

Sedric credits Tech coach Paul Johnson with teaching him how to take on the responsibility of being a student, athlete, husband and father.

When Sedric was an underclassman, he said he would sometimes miss a class, or sometimes fail to finish a drill during practice. He thought he was tough. He thought he was responsible.

And then Johnson was hired two years ago. He taught Sedric how much more he was capable of.

"He couldn't finish. I challenged him to be a finisher," Johnson said. "He's turned into a leader. I'm not so sure that he thought he could do it.

"I'm really, really proud of Sedric. He's not only doing much better in football, school, being a husband, and daddy. He's really turned a corner."