NORFOLK — When Griffin Duggan was a senior lineman at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, he dreamed of playing for two college programs: Virginia Tech or Old Dominion.
Duggan, now 23, has played for both.
He spent his first four seasons as a walk-on at Virginia Tech.
After getting his degree in public relations, he entered the transfer portal and landed at Old Dominion.
On Saturday, he’ll return to Lane Stadium in Blacksburg when the Monarchs play Virginia Tech at 7 p.m.
“It’s going to be fun seeing those guys. But it’s all business,” he said. “I haven’t been back since I left. That’s going to be exciting going back to Blacksburg. It’s definitely going to be different being on the opposite side of that tunnel, but also fun to see guys that I played with.”
Duggan still has several friends on the Hokies’ roster, including punter Nick Veltsistas, offensive lineman Johnny Garrett and linebacker George Ballance, who starred at Cox High in Virginia Beach.
But the road from Nansemond-Suffolk to Virginia Tech and Old Dominion hasn’t been an easy one for Duggan.
He’s endured many twists and bumps along the way, starting in high school.
As a freshman, he already had scholarship offers from Virginia Tech and Virginia. As a junior, he was rated a three-star recruit by 247Sports Composite and was ranked the 144th offensive tackle in the country and the No. 48 senior in Virginia. He also had interest from Pittsburgh, East Carolina and Delaware.
He was looking forward to a busy spring and summer of 2020. Plus, many schools wanted to see him perform at camps.
But then the pandemic shut down everything and wiped out the fall season.
Mike Biehl, then the coach at Nansemond-Suffolk, felt for his star player.
“I honestly don’t know if I would have handled it as well as he did,” said Biehl, who was a record-setting quarterback for Salem High in Virginia Beach and played at Iona.
Biehl, now the head coach at Grassfield High in Chesapeake, said there were some tough conversations and decisions that Duggan had to endure.
“He got an offer from Delaware, but they pulled the scholarship because they had their seniors stay and they didn’t have enough scholarships to go around,” Biehl said. “But he was positive through the entire situation. All he did was go to work. No complaining. There was never a point where he didn’t think it was going to work out. And at no point did he ever stop working.”
Former Nansemond-Suffolk Academy standout Griffin Duggan shown with his family when he played at Virginia Tech. He gets an opportunity to play against his former teammates on Saturday when Old Dominion travels to Blacksburg to play Virginia Tech. (Courtesy photo)
Duggan went to Virginia Tech as a walk-on, redshirted his first season and didn’t see any action in his second.
But in his third season, he played in 10 games, primarily on special teams. Then, more adversity hit. Dropping more than 40 pounds — from 300 pounds to 260 — was another major warning sign.
Tests revealed that Griffin had type 1 diabetes.
“It was such a shock to us because nobody in our family ever had it,” said his mother, Hunter. “It came out of nowhere.”
“He was losing weight, drinking water constantly and peeing constantly,” his father Bill said. “The previous summer he said his eyesight was kind of weird, which is another potential symptom about blood sugar Type 1 diabetes.”
Duggan changed his diet, took insulin injections and wore a glucose monitor.
Duggan, though, always looked at things optimistically, and this was no different.
“On the brighter side, they told me I didn’t have leukemia,” he said. “So there’s always a brighter side to everything. It could always be worse. I just have to stay on top of it. That’s the biggest deal with it. I guess this is part of God’s plan and I just gotta adapt to it.”
At Virginia Tech, he said he benefitted from top-notch care, and learned that two of his Hokies teammates also had Type 1 diabetes.
“Between the team doctors, the head athletic trainer, team nutritionist and team psychologist, there was a village around him,” his father said. “It sucks, but everything seemed to be in place to take care of him.”
Duggan finished out his junior season at Virginia Tech and appeared in three games the following season.
Shortly before the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Duggan decided to enter the transfer portal.
“I wanted a bigger role. I wouldn’t trade anything in the for the world the people I’ve met at Tech, but I wanted something different,” he said. “I knew I had a year of eligibility, and I knew I could possibly pursue a master’s degree and earn that scholarship. I spoke to Coach (Brent) Pry and my position coach that I wanted to enter the portal, and they completely agreed and helped me a lot. They reached out to coaches for me.”
After a visit to The Citadel, Duggan got a phone call from Old Dominion coach Ricky Rahne and offensive line coach Alex Huettel, who were looking to add depth on the offensive line.
“They called me and said, ‘We need you here,’” Duggan said. “I prayed on it and it just felt like it was meant to be.”
Huettel said Duggan plays hard and is a “high-character kid.”
“I just want him to be the best version of himself,” Huettel said. “If he can be the best version of Griffin Duggan, he’s going to make our team better.”
Old Dominion lineman and former Nansemond-Suffolk Academy standout Griffin Duggan, No. 68, gets an opportunity to play against his former teammates when the Monarchs travel to Blacksburg to play Virginia Tech. (Old Dominion Athletics)
Duggan got his first playing time for ODU last week against North Carolina Central, and his parents are excited to make the trip back to Blacksburg.
“It’s definitely going to be strange going back there. We have a lot of good positive memories,” Bill said. “But I’m an ODU grad. So it will be easy to root for Old Dominion and cheer them on to victory.”
Duggan, who is getting a master’s degree in sports management, believes everything he’s gone through has happened for a reason and it’s all worked out.
“I’m excited for this and I’m happy to be home,” he said. “It’s been a long, strange trip, but I’m glad I’m here in this position. I wouldn’t trade if for anything in the world.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com
