There’s always energy in the bench press room at the NFL scouting combine when players grip the crossbar and begin pumping the 225 pounds of free weights as everybody nearby counts the repetitions.

But never like this.

Even Shaquem Griffin Clint Boling Jersey , the one-handed do-it-all defender from Central Florida and a late invitee to the combine, didn’t expect to do what he did Saturday with his prosthetic left hand .

His personal max was 11 reps, but he had a much more modest benchmark in mind here.

”My goal was six,” Griffin acknowledged.

Griffin clipped his prosthetic hand onto the bar, then leaned back.

This wasn’t his brother spotting him – the one who he was sure used to surreptitiously help him – but this new spotter was hyping him up and the crowd joined in as did his fellow linebacker prospects.

”Everybody in the stands was hyping me up. I got the guys I’m here with hyping me up. It felt amazing,” Griffin said. ”I was ready to go. I was ready to attack it.”

His chest heaved.

And the counting began.

One, two, three.

”I said, this thing feels like 135. Let’s go!” Griffin recounted. ”And I just started cranking them out.”

Four, five, six.

That was easy.

Seven, eight, nine.

The crowd was hollering by now.

Ten, 11 – this was his personal best.

Twelve.

A new high.

Thirteen … 14 … 15 … 16.

The crowd was roaring is disbelief.

Seventeen.

Can this really be happening?

Eighteen!

That’s one more than his twin brother, Shaquille, managed at last year’s combine before the Seattle Seahawks selected the speedy cornerback in the third round of the NFL draft.

Nineteen!

One more … 20!

”I got chill bumps watching him do 20 reps,” said NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock. ”I literally choked up a little bit watching him do that and I can’t wait to watch him tomorrow.”

On Sunday, Griffin will run the 40-yard dash, do some quickness drills and some on-field testing at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Griffin was 4 years old when doctors amputated his left hand a day after his mother found him in the kitchen attempting to cut off his jelly-like fingers, which were in scorching pain whenever he touched anything, the result of amniotic band syndrome, a congenital birth defect.

Despite having just one hand, he kept up with his twin brother on and off the field.

As dozens of reporters and photographers gathered around him Saturday, Griffin said Anthony Munoz Jersey , ”I thought I was going to walk over here and it was going to be like three people.”

Not after becoming the best feel-good story of the combine so far – and by far.

”It was amazing, hearing the crowd and having the juices flowing, I mean I felt it,” Griffin said. ”I didn’t know I had it in me.”

Griffin said he’s mind-set is he always has to do more than those around him to impress coaches.

”I always hold myself to a higher standard than a lot of people just because if we’re running drills, if I drop a ball, they’re going to like, `Well, he dropped the ball because he has one hand.’ If anybody else drops a ball, they’re going to be like, `Well, maybe it was a bad ball,”’ Griffin said.

As a freshman, he couldn’t even lift the 45-pound bar, but then he was fitted with the pros ethic and his mom cried when he did his first pull-up.

”It’s amazing to see how far I’ve come from not being able to bench the bar to throwing up 20 reps of 225 and being able to compete with the best here,” said Griffin, the 2017 American Athletic Conference defensive player of the year.

Griffin, who played D-line, linebacker and safety at the Senior Bowl, said he’s going to try to join the defensive back drills Sunday after doing his work with the linebackers.

”I feel like I could just start curling 225 right now and I’m pretty sure come tomorrow, it’s going to be adrenalin just going crazy. I’m excited about tomorrow. If I feel this good doing the bench press, I can’t wait to see how I am tomorrow.”

Griffin said he hopes he’s an inspiration to kids everywhere.

”If I can inspire one, and they can inspire another and (soon we’ll) inspire a thousand,” Griffin said.

As evidenced by the way they were cheering him on in the bench press, he’s inspiring his fellow draft prospects at the combine.

”That’s kind of cool when you have guys at that top level Boomer Esiason Jersey , the best of the best, and they come and talk to you about you motivating them and inspiring them,” Griffin said. ”I feel really good hearing that from them. It motivates me to do more and keep pushing when you’ve got guys all over the place, the top in the country, and they’re proud of me.

”That was an amazing feeling, and it makes you enjoy it that much more.”

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The rain was heavy and relentless. As the puddles grew deeper on the tarp at Nationals Park, the Baltimore Orioles were left to wonder if their bid for a rare road victory would be thwarted by, of all things, the weather.

During a season in which very little has worked in their favor, the Orioles withstood a long rain delay to beat the Washington Nationals 3-0 Wednesday night.

Baltimore led 2-0 after four innings when play was stopped. After a wait of 2 hours, 43 minutes, the game resumed with a few hundred fans from the announced crowd of 32,153 sprinkled around the lower seating bowl.

Mark Trumbo homered for Baltimore, and Andrew Cashner and four relievers combined on a five-hitter in a game that ended long after midnight.

”It was nice,” Trumbo said. ”I’m glad that we actually kept the game going. Had we not been able to, it might have been a wash. But it ended up being pretty big for us.”

Baltimore ended a six-game losing streak to Washington that began last May, won for only the fourth time in 20 games and improved the majors’ worst road record to 10-28.

This one was worth the wait.

”It’s never easy, especially when you get over the hour mark, two-hour mark,” Trumbo said. ”Then you have to restart. It’s almost two games in one, so, great job by our guys tonight.”

The Nationals managed only two hits following the delay, both in the ninth inning.

”It happens. You can’t do anything about the rain,” manager Dave Martinez said. ”You’ve got to come out and get yourself ready to play. I’m not going to make any excuses.”

The rain delay cut short a solid pitching performance by Cashner Vontaze Burfict Jersey , who allowed three hits and no walks over four innings in his return from an 11-day stay on the disabled list with back spasms.

Miguel Castro (2-2) followed with two hitless innings, Darren O’Day pitched a perfect seventh and Zach Britton got four outs.

Brad Brach allowed the Nationals to load the bases with two outs in the ninth before striking out Mark Reynolds .

Trumbo hit a two-run homer in the second inning off Gio Gonzalez (6-4), and for a while it appeared the drive would be washed out by the rain.

”One pitch. That was the whole game,” Gonzalez lamented. ”That was it.”

Indeed, it all ended well for the Orioles, who added a run in the sixth when Adam Jones doubled off Shawn Kelley and scored on a sacrifice fly by Danny Valencia .

BRYCE STRUGGLES

Nationals OF Bryce Harper went 0 for 4, dropping his batting average to .209.

Martinez said Harper has been working hard with batting coach Kevin Long, and the manager expects the five-time All-Star to end his prolonged slump with a flourish.

”He’s going to hit. I know he’s going to carry us for a month or two or for whatever,” Martinez said.

WAITING FOR DAVIS

Now in the third year of a seven-year, $161 million contract, Baltimore’s Chris Davis is batting .150 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 57 games. He last played on June 11, when he went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts against Boston.

Since then, Davis has been working on his swing and improving his mental outlook. His return appears imminent.

”A couple of days,” manager Buck Showalter said. ”We’re pretty close to it.”

OH, BROTHER

With Cashner coming off the DL, the Orioles optioned infielder Corban Joseph to Double-A Bowie. That ended the 24-hour, feel-good story of Corban and catcher Caleb Joseph as brothers on the same team.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Orioles: 3B Tim Beckham (core surgery) went 1 for 4 with 3 strikeouts in a rehab game with Triple-A Norfolk. … RHP Chris Tillman (back) began his rehab assignment by giving up three runs in two innings for Class A Aberdeen.

Nationals: Martinez said patience is the key in awaiting the return of RHP Stephen Strasburg (shoulder). ”We’re really going to take our time and make sure he’s 100 percent,” the manager said. … 1B Ryan Zimmerman (oblique) is taking grounders and some swings. … C Matt Wieters (oblique) caught in the bullpen but is not yet running at full speed.

UP NEXT

Orioles: Kevin Gausman (3-6, 4.48 ERA) pitches the finale of the three-game series Wednesday night.

Nationals: Max Scherzer (10-3, 2.06) tries to avoid his first three-game losing streak since August 2015.

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