The Kid's kid has a new home … and it's going to be a long ways from home.
As first reported by the Orlando Sentinel, Trey Griffey, the eldest child of future MLB Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. who chose to focus on football instead of baseball committed to play college football at the University of Arizona on Monday night. Griffey can make his decision official on National Signing Day on Feb. 1.
"I feel great … it was basically just the atmosphere and I loved everything about it," Trey Griffey told the Sentinel. "It was just a great, enjoyable trip to Tucson.
"My parents said, 'It's up to you, you got to do what you want to do ... what you feel is right.' I'm going to the University of Arizona. It doesn't get any better than that."
Griffey's decision follows an impressive senior season for Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips High, where the wide receiver set school records for both receptions and receiving yards in a season, as well as receptions and receiving yards in a single game. Before those performances, Griffey had gained most of his notoriety based on his famous athletic roots (even though his favorite athlete was not his dad), receiving significant recruiting interest from the likes of Michigan State, Iowa State and Washington State. In the meantime, he was profiled by the likes of always excellent fellow Yahoo! sports blogs Dr. Saturday and Big League Stew, as well as here at Prep Rally, of course.
Plenty of other schools stepped up their interest after his senior season and his breakout practice performances before the Under Armour All-America Game. That and the hiring of former Indiana co-offensive coordinator Rod Smith on the staff of new Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez helped lay the groundwork for Griffey to become the former West Virginia coach's highest wattage recruit in his still brief tenure in Tuscon.
While some might be concerned about the distance between Arizona and the Griffey homestead in Central Florida, Trey told the Sentinel that his parents were nothing but supportive of his decision and were happy when he broke the news of his college choice.
After all, for a family used to traveling between Florida and Seattle to catch baseball games, Florida and Arizona will actually be a shorter trip.
Regardless of distance, there seems to be little doubt that the Griffeys will make some trips to the desert to see their son perform.
"As a dad I'm very proud of him," Ken Griffey Jr. told the Sentinel when his son was named to the Under Armour All-America game. "He's the one who put in all the hard work."
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