I want to flag this story by Gene Wojciechowski on ESPN College GameDay Saturday. Wojciechowski spent nearly two weeks in Poland with Adam Griffith and his family in reporting this piece.

It hardly is something you’ll see everyday on a college pregame show.

From the release:

Alabama’s starting kicker Adam Griffith is no stranger to adversity. At the 2013 Iron Bowl, with one second left in a tied game, Griffith’s 57-yard field goal attempt against rival Auburn was short and returned for a touchdown – an improbable, history-making play. Just as unlikely is Griffith’s road to Alabama – born in Poland to unfit parents and shuffling through orphanages, with little hope for a bright future. That changed in 2006, when a then 13-year-old Griffith was adopted by a couple in Georgia, where he found a successful high school football career that led to a scholarship at Alabama. Earlier this year, ESPN accompanied the Griffith family as they returned to Poland for the first time since the adoption. Gene Wojciechowski reports as Griffith retraces his roots, discovering a new relationship with those of his distant past along the way.

“In Poland, growing up in the orphanage, there was no dreams. Sometimes you go to bed hungry. You don’t have anything… I was never looking forward to having family, you know?  I just wanted to be on my own… and do my own thing. I guess that was my dream.” – Adam Griffith

“I think we’ve gained as much from him as I hope he’s gained from us. When I sit back and I think he’s the kicker at University of Alabama I’m always amazed.” – Michelle Griffith, Adam’s adoptive mother