Ryan Griffin, a defensive back and wide receiver at Ypsilanti High School, signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Jackson State University in the fall.

Jackson State, a historically black college in Jackson, Miss., competes in the Southwestern Athletic Conference as part of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-AA.

Griffin is the second player from Ypsilanti to receive a scholarship after Marquez Gollman signed with Grand Valley State in February.

“To see those two young men sign a letter of intent is totally awesome,” said Ypsilanti head coach Jason Malloy. “It goes back to what I’m trying to accomplish building young boys in to young men.”

Griffin played at Pioneer before transferring to Ypsilanti for his senior season. This season, Griffin had 75 tackles, 7.5 sacks and two interceptions for the Phoenix. A first team All-SEC White selection and AnnArbor.com Dream Team member, Griffin had 18 receptions for 267 yards and a touchdown as a receiver.

Though his head coach for just one year, Malloy has known Griffin since he was in eighth grade, when Ryan’s brother, Ricky Griffin, played under Malloy at Lincoln High School and he would accompany his older brother to weight room work outs.

Malloy said he tried to diversify Griffin’s game this year to put his athleticism to good use.

“Watching him grow as an athlete I wanted him to play more than corner. I wanted him to use athletic ability and get him near the line of scrimmage. He was everywhere for us, we called him our hero,” Malloy said. “That worked in our favor and I think that boded well for him in the recruiting process.”

OTHER SIGNINGS

Wednesday's late NCAA signing period lacked pizzazz in Washtenaw County as most players in the area signed letters of intent at the beginning and end of early signing period, while athletes in other sports inked their commitment on the much ballyhooed National Signing Day in February.

Below is a list of local athletes that have made their commitments in the meantime:

BASKETBALL James Kelly, Pioneer: Kelly will attend Eastern Arizona College, a junior college. A 6-7 center, Kelly averaged 16 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and 2.5 steals with a 59-percent field goal percentage.

SWIMMING AND DIVING Stephanie Boyle, Saline: Boyle will continue her swimming career at Bowling Green. As a senior, Boyle finished third in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke at the Division 1 state championships as Saline repeated as team champions. Boyle also swam the anchor leg of the Hornets’ second-place 400 freestyle relay.

Hannah Cowley, Pioneer: Cowley will continue her swimming career at the Louisville. AnnArbor.com’s 2010 Swimmer of the Year capped off a perfect individual career at the state finals as a senior, winning the 100 and 200 freestyles to finish eight-for-eight in the events for her career. Additionally, Cowley was the anchor for Pioneer’s third-place 400 free relay and fifth-place 200 free relay (1:38.69) at states.

Lindsay Gauche, Saline: Gauche will continue her diving career at Oakland University. As a senior, Gauche was took eighth place at the state championships.

Mike Fisher, Saline: Fisher will continue his swimming career at Eastern Michigan. He was a member of Saline’s back-to-back state championship teams. As a senior Fisher was state champion in the 100-yard breaststroke, third in the 200 individual medley, and swam a leg on the first place 200 medley relay team.

Taylor Ford, Saline: Ford will dive for Ohio State. As a senior took first place at the Division 1 state finals. Ford was state runner up as a sophomore, but did not compete at the high school level as a junior.

Nick Nemetz, Pioneer: Nemetz will dive for Notre Dame. Nemetz was a state champion as a sophomore, placed third as a junior and was runner up his senior year.

Emily Stalmack, Pioneer: Stalmack will join her teammate Cowley at Louisville as a diver. Stalmack finished fourth in the state as a senior.

BASEBALL Chaz Poindexter, Milan: Poindexter will continue his playing career at Seina Heights. As a junior, Poindexter had .419 batting average, a .564 on base percentage and .640 slugging percentage. He had 26 RBIs and three home runs.

SOCCER Ashley Chrisman, Chelsea: Chrisman will continue her playing career at Evansville.

VOLLEYBALL Cassie Castro, Saline: Castro will continue her playing career at Madonna. Castro was a Class A All-State honorable mention and All-SEC Red first team member as a senior. Castro was the Washtenaw County's top defensive player, tallying 549 digs for the Hornets. She served at nearly a 90 percent rate with 65 aces and maintained nearly a 90 percent serve reception level all season.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com or 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.