Cedric Griffin was born in Natchez, Mississippi. He lived in Baton Rouge Louisiana until he was nine years old. He moved to San Antonio when he was ten where he attended Holmes High School. He played football and was the district champion in the 300-meter hurdles for the track team as a junior. For the football team, Cedric played defensive back and receiver. He also returned some kicks and punts. As a junior, Cedric finished with 76 tackles, 14 pass break-ups, and 3 interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. As a senior he totaled 26 tackles and 7 interceptions on defense. He caught 8 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 198 yards on offense. On special teams he had a 90 yard kickoff return and two 95 yard punt returns. Cedric was named second team all-state for his play as a senior. He accepted a scholarship to the University of Texas where he sat out the 2001 season as a redshirt. In 2002 he started three games at strong safety and three games at nickel back, totaling 73 tackles, 4 pass break-ups and 2 forced fumbles on the year. As a sophomore, Griffin moved to cornerback where he started all 13 games, finishing with 48 tackles, 7 pass break-ups and his first career interception. As a junior, Cedric started all 12 games at right cornerback. He racked up 68 tackles on the year, broke up 6 passes, intercepted two more, and forced a fumble. He was named second team all-big 12 by the coaches for his performance. As a senior, Cedric was named first team all-big 12 and third team all-American.

Cedric Griffin is a versatile player with a ton of experience, having started at both safety and cornerback for the Longhorns over the past four years. He has proven to be a very durable player during that time with no major injuries. He has a very good combination of size, speed, and athleticism for a defensive back. He is a physical player who isn’t afraid to lay a big hit. He is very strong in run support and displays good tackling technique. He has excellent instincts but needs to improve his technique in coverage. He lacks great ball skills and doesn’t come up with many interceptions. He needs to work on putting himself in better position to make a play on the ball while it’s in the air. He has good but not great speed and he will get beat deep at times. Cedric Griffin is a very versatile player who could play corner or safety in the NFL. Due to his lack of great ball skills, Cedric will have a better chance of seeing playing time at safety early on in his career than he will at corner. He is also an excellent special teams player which will only add to his value to the NFL team that selects him. Cedric has a chance to be a late first or early second day pick in the 2006 NFL draft.