Tammy Nunez of The Times-Picayune reported Friday that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback coach Randy Fichtner will be in attendance for the Tulane Pro Day this upcoming week to watch quarterback Ryan Griffin. Not only will Fichtner be present for the workout, but he will also be having dinner with the 6-foot-5, 206-pound Griffin in addition.
“I’m headed to San Diego on April 1 and then Pittsburgh’s quarterback coach is coming to pro day,” said Griffin. “He’s coming the night before so we can meet and have dinner. Every team can only have a certain number of people come in. He’s coming. Jacksonville’s quarterback coach is coming and the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback coach is coming.”
Griffins\’ agent, Mark Bloom, insinuated on Twitter over a week ago that his client will be visiting the Steelers.
Griffin, according to February article by Nunez, had quite a five years at Tulane that included him working with three quarterback coaches and several offensive coordinators. He finished his college career completing 836-of-1,396 passes for 9,026 yards and 56 touchdowns with 35 interceptions.
In addition to all the changes on the Tulane coaching staff, Griffin also missed three games last season with an undisclosed shoulder injury. When he returned from that injury, however, he posted consecutive 400-yard-plus passing games.
Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert has stated all offseason that the team is open to drafting a quarterback during the upcoming NFL draft. The organization had a full contingency at the Tennessee Pro Day just last week and had dinner with quarterback Tyler Bray before attending his workout.
The Steelers signed former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Bruce Gradkowski to a three-year contract at the start of free agency to presumably backup Ben Roethlisberger in 2013, and it now appears that they are indeed serious about adding another quarterback during the draft.
Griffin is currently projected to be a possible seventh-round selection, but that could all change depending on how he throws next week at his Pro Day. Should he wind up going undrafted, he will certainly be a player who several teams will look forward to adding as an undrafted free agent just after the draft ends.
