Joe Griffin was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 3 Class of 2022 recruit in Massachusetts. And the Springfield Central star had offers from the likes of Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Wake Forest—all of which were ranked inside the AP Top 15 at one point last season.

Still, Griffin chose the Power Five school in his backyard: Boston College.

"Being local, honestly, I love it," Griffin said Tuesday. "All the kids around in Mass are looking up to me. People text me all the time. It just feels good to be a role model. Someone they can look up to."

Griffin was one of two four-star signees in the Eagles' 2022 cycle, and he's already started to make his mark on the field as a true freshman. Despite arriving in the summer, dealing with an injury in fall camp and being sick the week of the Maine game, Griffin has played a total of 67 snaps across the Eagles' last three games, according to Pro Football Focus.

This past weekend at Florida State, Griffin was in for 24 snaps amid BC's blowout defeat. He was targeted twice and hauled in a four-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Emmett Morehead.

It was the first career touchdown for both Griffin and Morehead, a redshirt freshman.

Griffin explained how he and Morehead have established chemistry because the Springfield native has spent a good deal of time working with the second-team offense since August. The duo frequently gets in extra throws after practice, he said.

The touchdown reception was Griffin's third catch of his young Eagles career. He's emerging as an option for starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec, behind the trio that is Zay Flowers, Jaelen Gill and Jaden Williams.

Like those three, Griffin has speed. But he offers something they don't have.

Size. Griffin stands 6-foot-4, 200 pounds.

"He’s a big man," head coach Jeff Hafley said Tuesday. "And he’s going to get more confident as he really gets a good feel for everything. I think you’re going to see more and more of him this year, both play wise and him making plays down the field."

Griffin's frame helps make blocking a strength for him, considering he's bigger than just about every defensive back out there.

"Yeah, I love blocking," he said with a smile.

Griffin said the game has slowed down significantly for him the last two weeks. He explained that, now, he's able to read coverages better and signals are easier to pick up.

Four weeks in, Griffin feels like he can keep up.

Griffin said that he wants to follow in the footsteps of Flowers, who is primed to be BC's first wideout drafted since 1987. The first-year receiver noted that he's learned a lot from Flowers, including post-practice drills, releases and moves at the top of routes.

"Joe Griffin? Athletic. Kind of a freak," Flowers said back in August. "Crazy different contested catches. He can do all of it."

Griffin is coming along during what's been a tumultuous Eagles season so far. But his future is promising. Plus, he'll be joined by his brother, Josiah, next year.

Josiah—a three-star Class of 2023 defensive end who is the 10th-highest rated Massachusetts recruit in his cycle—committed to BC earlier this month.

The elder Griffin found the end zone in Tallahassee with less than a minute to go in an embarrassing defeat.

"Honestly, the feeling's great," Griffin said of the touchdown. "We were still down, so I was locked in. I didn't really show that was I that excited. But I was."

After all, it was his first highlight-reel play in college—a chance to represent his home state more than 1,300 miles away.