The final chapter of Shaquill and Shaquem Griffin's UCF football journey is under way.
On Friday afternoon, the twin brothers will walk the graduation stage _ one behind the other to pick up _ to celebrate the bacehlor's degrees they earned in human communications. Just 24 hours later, the Griffin brothers will charge down the field of Camping World Stadium to help the Knights (6-6) battle Arkansas State (7-5) in the 2016 AutoNation Cure Bowl.
It could be the last time Shaquill and Shaquem Griffin ever play football together, wrapping an adventure that started at age 4, shortly after Shaquem had his left hand amputated due to a medical condition called amniotic band syndrome.
Shaquill hopes to move on to the NFL after a successful senior season. Shaquem, a redshirt junior, has one year of eligibility left. He hopes to match the energy of the 2016 season that earned him American Athletic Conference defensive player of the year honors.
But the Griffins know this final chapter isn't the end of their inspirational story.
"I feel like everything is so much bigger than us. I feel like we're here to motivate people and help them understand that you can push through anything," Shaquill Griffin said. "God has given us this sign that that's our role in life. Not just football, but we are here to stay positive for everybody else."
Their story earned national attention after ESPN's GameDay featured the Griffins. Shaquem also made the national radio rounds, appearing on Jim Rome and the Dan LeBatard Show. ESPN personality Scott Van Pelt acknowledged Shaquem's conference player of the year award on his program.
Perhaps no one was more happy for Shaquem's success than his older brother by 16 seconds, Shaquill.
The two waited three years to play a full college football season together after Shaquem was relegated mainly to special teams at UCF.
"I'm just glad he accomplished what he accomplished this year knowing what he went through the last couple of years. ...It's so hard to stay positive when you're going through that situation," Shaquill said. "Knowing that he went through that adversity and that he still made it out and took full advantage of the opportunity, and I'm just glad he persevered through that and he's definitely the perfect role model."
Shaquem Griffin said the two have talked about playing their last UCF football game together, but the emotion of the moment hasn't settled in yet.
"Our whole thing is we gotta stay strong for each other and it's gonna be a real emotional time knowing that it's the last time we're gonna play together for UCF. And I'm just blessed that I had the opportunity to play with him," Shaquem said. "Just to be here and play with him and getting that excitement that we used to have in high school, I couldn't change that for anything in the world.
"Going into the last game, it's gonna be emotional for us, but it's gonna bring the best out in both of us."
