Everson Griffen (born December 22, 1987) is an American football defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was selected in the fourth round and 100th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft after playing college football at USC. A graduate of Agua Fria High School, Griffen was the highest-ranked prospect to come out of the state of Arizona since Terrell Suggs, whom he idolized growing up. He has been described as “one of the rare physical freaks that come around only once in a blue moon”.\n', '

Griffen attended Agua Fria High School in Avondale, Arizona, the same high school as Vikings Hall of Famer Randall McDaniel. At Agua Fria, Griffen played as a defensive lineman and running back for the Owls high school football team. As a junior, he rushed for 794 yards on 142 carries for eight touchdowns, and had 12 receptions for 168 yards and one 71-yard reception where he outraced everybody for a score. On defense, he was double and triple-teamed but still managed 47 tackles, five sacks and three fumble recoveries. In his senior year, Griffen recorded 77 tackles, 16 sacks and a fumble recovery as a defensive end and ran for 1,251 yards on 159 carries (7.9 avg.) with 20 touchdowns and had 6 receptions with 2 touchdowns as a running back. His 2006 senior season honors included Super Prep Player of the Year, Scout.com Player of the Year, Parade All-American, EA Sports All-American first team, Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, Scout.com All-American, Lemming All-American, Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star 100, Rivals.com 100, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Scout.com All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first team, Orange County Register Fab 15 first team, Tacoma News-Tribune Western 100 and Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year.\n', '

Also a standout track & field athlete, Griffen was one of the state\'s top performers in the throwing events. At the 2007 4A I State Meet, he won both the shot put and discus events. He recorded top throws of 17.67 meters (58 feet) in the shot put and 55.11 meters (180 feet, 8 inches) in the discus. Following his junior season, he attended the 2005 Arizona summer camp, where he ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at 6-foot-4 and about 260 pounds, which earned him the nickname "The Freak" and led to comparisons to All-Pro defensive end Jevon Kearse. Griffen also earned first-team all-region honors in basketball.\n', '

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