Speed Kills: 3 Star Dual Threat QB Jonovan Griffin Commits to the UTEP Miners

Major news on the recruiting front as the UTEP Miners have reportedly received a commitment from Jonovan Griffin, a blazing dual threat quarterback out of McKinney Boyd High School.  MI ($) reported the commitment and Starlocalnews.com has a nice report on it too.

Griffin chose the UTEP Miners over offers from Texas Tech, Tulane, Memphis, and Wyoming, and was drawing interest from Kansas, SMU, and others.  From the report:

In five games for the Broncos this season, he has thrown for 921 yards and 10 touchdowns, while rushing for a team-high 593 yards and seven more scores.

As a junior, Griffin accounted for 3,620 total yards and 26 touchdowns. He has amassed more than 6,300 yards and 50 touchdowns in his career.

This isn't the first time we've discussed Griffin.  Back in June, we learned that UTEP first offered Griffin after Pony Stampede, an SMU fan site, broke the news.  According to Rivals.com, Griffin is 5'11 and 163 pounds and runs a scorching 4.43 forty yard dash.  As a junior, Griffin amassed a ridiculous 1,200 yards on the ground rushing and 2,420 yards in the air.   

ESPN (Insider) doesn't see Griffin playing quarterback in college but ranks him as the 100th best "Athlete" in the 2011 class.  ESPN's Scouts Inc. rates Griffin a 3 Star Talent.  ESPN notes:

Griffin is a dual-threat quarterback at the high school level, but will surely make the move to cornerback or wide receiver in college. He is undersized and not equipped in the passing game to be a factor at QB, but he does have very good overall athleticism, speed and change-of-direction..

With Trevor Vittatoe graduating at seasons end, and with Tim Curry transferring, the Miners obviously needed to bring in a quarterback with this class.  It remains to be seen whether or not Griffin is that quarterback.  UTEP will bring back Carson Meger, UNM transfer Tate Smith, and freshman Javia Hall at quarterback next season.  It definitely appears that wherever he plays, Griffin has the speed and athleticism to succeed at UTEP.

[Note by Adrian Mac, 09/28/10 5:47 PM CDT ]  Just found some Griffin highlights posted here.

Griffin is the 10th Member of UTEP's 2010 Recruiting Class.  For more on Mike Price's other commits,click here.  To be first to know when a UTEP story breaks, follow Miner Rush on Twitter.