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| Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy Saturday night |
NEW YORK — Robert Griffin III is Baylor's Superman and when he won the Heisman Trophy he was wearing the socks to prove it. The junior quarterback known as RG3 beat out the preseason favorite from Stanford on Saturday night, becoming the first Baylor player to take home college football's most famous trophy.
Right before his name was called, Griffin took a deep breath. Griffin started the season on the fringe of the Heisman conversation, a talented and exciting player on a Griffin received 405 first-place votes and 1,687 points. Luck received 247 first-place votes and 1,407 points to become the fourth player to be Heisman runner-up in consecutive seasons and first since Arkansas running back Darren McFadden in 2006 and `07. Luck was also first to congratulate Griffin. "It was so well-deserved by Robert Griffin," Luck said
Griffin's speech was as smooth as his game.
Griffin is a big fan of superheroes and cartoon characters, and socks. Griffin's highlights were simply spectacular – his signature moment coming on a long, cross-field touchdown pass with 8 seconds left to beat Oklahoma – and he put up dizzying numbers, completing 72 percent of his passes for 3,998 yards with 36 touchdown passes and a nation-leading 192.3 efficiency rating.
More importantly, he lifted Baylor (9-3) to national prominence and one of the greatest seasons in school history. The 15th-ranked Bears won nine games for the first time in 25 years, beat the Sooners for the first time ever and went 4-0 in November. That was after winning a total of four November games in their first 15 Big 12 seasons. And the last three games? Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Texas.
Griffin made a 15-yard reception in traffic to convert a key third down on the game-winning drive in Baylor's opening 50-48 victory against TCU. Griffin passed for 479 yards and four touchdowns against the Sooners, including that sensational 34-yard, game-winner to Terrance Williams in the closing seconds. Meanwhile, Luck and Richardson were idle, their regular seasons over.
"We've done a great job resurrecting the program," Griffin said. Griffin had committed to Houston and Coach Art Briles, but when Baylor hired Briles away, Griffin switched up and followed the coach to a program that hadn't even played in a bowl game since 1994.
Two UW defensive players said Sunday that there will be some added incentive now that Griffin has been named the country's top player. Defensive tackle Alameda Ta'amu said a part of him was rooting for Griffin to win the award. Robert Griffin III became the first player from Baylor ever to win the Heisman Trophy, and he did it with a great season from beginning to end.
Before the 2011 season began, Griffin was not a household name.
Bodog, an online betting site, rated him behind 10 other college players who they thought was more likely to win the Heisman. That all changed after the first game of the season. TCU came into the game as the No. 14 team in the country, but Baylor upset the Horned Frogs 50-48 behind 359 passing yards and five touchdowns by Robert Griffin. As the season progressed, his hype started to fade as Baylor struggled. Players do not win Heisman’s when their team is hovering around.
Griffin's profile did not regain strength until late in the season, after a November game against No. 5 Oklahoma. Baylor had never defeated Oklahoma in its history, but in a 38-38 game with 51 seconds left, Robert Griffin III took the ball and drove down the field.
Analysts always look for a "Heisman Moment." That was Griffin's. The Oklahoma win put Griffin in the spotlight, but there were still some doubters. However, the lack of a Big 12 Championship Game worked in his favor, as Baylor was able to play on the last week of the season. This game probably sealed the Heisman Trophy for the young quarterback, but he earned it thanks to an entire season of great play.
Robert Griffin threw for almost 4,000 yards with 36 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He ran for 644 yards and nine touchdowns. In almost every measure, Robert Griffin III was the best player in college football. With the recent concussion suffered by Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy on a helmet-to-helmet hit from Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, Cleveland’s draft strategy for April may have also been altered.
While the short-term effects of McCoy’s concussion may not be known, the long-term damage to McCoy could make Cleveland draft a quarterback in April. With quarterbacks such as Stanford’s Andrew Luck and USC’s Matt Barkley projected to be taken before the Browns slot, Cleveland may be able to draft a player who has a combination of accuracy and athleticism in Heisman Trophy winner, Robert Griffin III out of Baylor.
Like McCoy, Griffin III is a native of Texas, Copperas Cove—thirty miles west of Dallas-Fort Worth—has led the Bears to a 10-3 record and a Alamo Bowl appearance against the Washington Huskies. For the year, Griffin III has thrown for 43 total touchdowns—36 passing and seven rushing—3,998 yards, completed 72.4 percent of his passes for a QB rating of 192.3 Griffin III has also rushed for 239 yards on 161 attempts.
While Cleveland is projected in mock drafts to select Alabama Crimson Tide running back Trent Richardson with their own first-round pick, if Griffin III is available should Cleveland take him when they have other issues at offensive line, running back, wide receiver and defensive end instead?
Griffin III has an arm stronger than McCoy and with a knack for running and extending plays—a la Ben Roethlisberger—Griffin III’s dual-threat ability would appeal to Cleveland. Is McCoy really the guy in Cleveland? Maybe
Should Cleveland consider taking Griffin III if he is on the board? In case you somehow missed it, Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy Saturday night. That means the Huskies will face the reigning Heisman winner in a bowl game for just the second time, the first coming in the 1992 Rose Bowl against Michigan and Desmond Howard (who won the 1991 Heisman, with the bowl game played on Jan. 1, 1992).
By my count, this will be the 16th time UW will face a Heisman Trophy winner in the year in which he won the Heisman. UW is 3-11 in previous games against teams featuring the Heisman winner that season.
- 1962 --- QB Terry Baker, Oregon State. What's kind of a forgotten UW team beat the Beavers 14-13 en route to a 7-1-2 season, the only loss coming against USC.
- 1965 --- RB Mike Garrett, USC. Garrett and the Trojans won easily, 34-6. the waning moments.
- 1970 --- QB Jim Plunkett, Stanford.
- 1979 --- RB Charles White, USC. White and the Trojans won 24-17 but only after stopping the Huskies at the 2-yard-line late.
- 1981 --- RB Marcus Allen, USC. In what is one of the most famous wins in UW history, the Huskies beat the Trojans 13-3 in a driving rainstorm in Seattle, a key win en route to the Rose Bowl. Howard had just one catch for 35 yards as UW won 34-14 to clinch a share of the national title.
- 1995 --- RB Eddie George, Ohio State. George and the Buckeyes won 30-20 in Columbus.
- 2002 --- QB Carson Palmer, USC. Palmer and the Trojans got a pretty easy 41-21 win in Los Angeles.
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