St. Cloud High athletes Terrance “T.J.” Griffin and Espn Pool now know what comes next, as a Purple Raider and Sailfish, after signing football and golf scholarships to Mount Union University and Palm Beach Atlantic respectively.
Bulldogs’ football coach Mike Short said he always believed that Griffin could be a successful football player at the next level, and he’ll get to prove his coach right at the Ashland, Ohio Division III school.
Mount Union is one of college football’s most successful programs, coming off a 14-1 season with its only loss to North Central in the Amos Alonso Stagg Bowl national championship. The Purple Raiders are 96-6 in the last eight seasons and have not lost a regular season game since 2016. They won the national championship in 2017 and finished runner-up in 2022 and 2019.
Although many schools expressed an interest in Griffin, he said he felt Mount Union was the only choice for him.
“I felt it was a great fit for me personally,” the senior running back and defensive back said. “The program is all about winning and that is what really appealed to me. I loved the school, the coaches and the players that I met and just feel I have been presented with a terrific opportunity to continue my career at the next level with an exceptional program.”
Griffin is coming off a senior season where he led the 5-5 Bulldogs with 408 yards, but also caught 44 passes out of the backfield for 711 yards and scored five touchdowns. He saw significant time in the defensive backfield, where he had 13 tackles and an interception.
All told, Griffin was a three-year starter and a four-year letterwinner. He totaled more than 2,500 career all-purpose yards, helping the Bulldogs to a 20-11 record in the last three seasons. Defensively, he had 77 career tackles and four interceptions. He was both an OBC and All-Osceola News Gazette All-County selection in 2024.
“Mount Union is an exceptional program and I can tell you they are getting an exceptional football player and an exception individual,” Coach Short said.
While Mount Union coaches project Griffin to play safety, both Short and Griffin hope he sees the other side of the ball.
“I know the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach really pushed for him, but he is so explosive I think he could help them on special teams or in the slot,” Short added.
“I am so excited for this opportunity and will play wherever they want me to play,” Griffin added. “But who doesn’t like to score touchdowns? If they want to use me to return kicks or play on offense, I’ll be ready to go.”
Griffin said he is not sure what major he will pursue, but in strongly interested in either sports science or sports business as a field of study.
Pool, the Orange Belt Conference boys golf champion in 2024 (with a bogey-free 68 at Royal St. Cloud) after finishing second in a playoff the year before, will continue teeing it up at Palm Beach Atlantic, down south on the Turnpike a couple of hours in West Palm Beach for the Division II Sailfish in the ultra competitive Sunshine State Conference.
“The process took a lot of patience and time, the NCAA changed the roster size rules to make them smaller back in July (2024),” Pool said. “But it’s the best D-II conference in the nation, so I’ll get great competition, and they have a great business school where I can get my Masters. It’s the best of all worlds.”
Pool said he took up the game in seventh grade, a product of the School District’s middle school golf program — and knew by eighth grade he wanted to play in college. With that now locked down, he hopes to turn the game into a pro career.
“I’m hoping college isn’t the end of my journey,” Pool said.
It won’t be for a lack of effort — he said he works on his game every day, and works with teaching pro Mike Schlager out of Disney.
“We’re working on proximity, just hitting it closer to score better,” he said. “My distance and accuracy are good right now, we’re just working to bring it all together.
