PHOENIX — The stage won’t be too big for Adam Griffith on Monday night.
Pressure? A football game, albeit a national championship game, isn’t pressure, not where Alabama’s place-kicker has come from.
“Making or missing a field goal is not a big deal,” he said Saturday. “It’s not the end of the world. Growing up in an orphanage, not having family for you, it’s tougher.”
Griffith’s childhood was difficult, one of seven children in his family on their own because their parents battled substance-abuse problems. He spent time in four different orphanages in Stargard Szczecinski, Poland, a town near the German border in one of the nation’s poorest provinces. In an ESPN documentary, Griffith said he began drinking alcohol at the age of 10, smoking cigarettes when he was 6, stealing food to stay nourished.
His life changed at the age of 13, when he was adopted by American parents, Tom and Michelle Griffith, math teachers from Calhoun, Ga., who found him through a feature on an adoption agency’s website. He changed his name, from Andrzej Debowski to Adam Griffith, and was introduced to football in the eighth grade, after playing soccer in Poland. By his sophomore year of high school, he held a scholarship to Alabama.
“I feel fortunate, for sure,” the junior said. “I could be in jail, somewhere on the streets. It’s hard to even think about that. I got lucky, and my family found me. I came here and now I’m here.
“I want to thank my parents, my family, that gave me the chance to make something of myself.”
After a slow start this season, Griffith, who came up just short in the famous “Kick Six” against Auburn in 2013, has come on, making eight of his past nine kicks, including a 50-yarder against Auburn and a 55-yard boot against LSU. He missed his first four field goals of the season, but they were all close, so he tweaked his mechanics, and has hit his stride. The kick against LSU was particularly important — it started his strong run.
“It was the turning point of my season,” he recalled. “Coach [Nick] Saban called out the punt team. I went over to him. He looked at me. He said, ‘You want to try it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, that’s why I’m here.’ ”
A criminal justice major who recently graduated, he isn’t sure what the future holds. He would love a shot at the NFL, if an opportunity arises. But for now, he’s focused on Monday night, and the chance to go out on top, kick the game-winning field goal in the championship game.
It would be a dream come true, except he never had those dreams. Playing big-time college football or winning a national championship wasn’t something he hoped for. He has come further than he ever could have imagined years ago.
“I’m here playing for the national championship,” he said. “It’s amazing. I’m so blessed.”