The Heisman View From Baylor: Robert Griffin III
Throughout the day Thursday, The Quad will feature posts about Heisman Trophy contenders by sports writers at the candidates’ universities.
Before him, Baylor was the favorite opponent for a homecoming game.
With him, Baylor now has its highest Football Bowl Subdivision ranking at No. 12, has finished third in the Big 12 conference and is No. 1 in the state of Texas.
He is one of three players of in the history of the F.B.S. with more than 10,000 yards passing and 2,000 yards rushing.
He is a finalist for the Manning Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award and the Wuerffel Trophy.
Robert Griffin III is the quarterback at Baylor University, and a finalist for the Heisman Trophy at a school that has never won one.
According to ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit: “He’s from Baylor. He’s not going to win the Heisman.”
Griffin III disagrees, crediting the name on the front of his jersey more than the one on the back.
“It’s not just about me, it’s about all of Baylor Nation,” Griffin said. “I don’t know if you can say we deserve it, but it would definitely be warranted.”
Originally, Griffin was planning to attend the University of Houston, but when he found out Art Briles was leaving there to take the head coaching job at Baylor, he followed.
“The first time I saw him in person is when he came up to camp,” Briles said. “I knew he could run because I had some friends, high school track coaches, who were watching him run. That was the first thing that caught our eye. Then when he came to camp, I remember, after we had gone through some drills throwing, telling the coaches: ‘Hey we got to hide this guy. This guy is special.’ Robert didn’t stand at the back of the line. I told him to go to the front and get all the reps as he wanted because I was really excited when I saw him throw the football. You can teach somebody to throw and you can teach proper pocket etiquette and form, but I haven’t ever seen a slow guy get fast. So we started out pretty good at that part of it.”
On the season, Griffin has accumulated 3,998 yards passing, with an average of 10.84 yards per completion. He has 36 touchdown passes, with only 6 interceptions and a 72.4 completion rate.
On the ground he has recorded 644 yards and 9 touchdowns.
“It’s awesome,” tight end Jerod Monk said. “I think we have the best quarterback in the nation. He’s phenomenal when throwing the ball around. He gets it to a lot of guys, and there are opportunities to score. Just looking at the defense, he knows where to throw the ball, and he executes the offense really well. He’s able to throw the deep ball. I mean, you don’t see hardly anybody in the country throw the deep ball like him. It’s amazing.”
At the beginning of the season, Griffin had more touchdown passes than incompletions.
“You know it’s just crazy — they say it’s like video games,” Griffin said. “But when we’re out there, and we’re doing what we’re supposed to, then the ball doesn’t need to be on the ground. As long as it’s in their hands, then they’re making plays.”
The Baylor team, led by Griffin, stepped up in 2011. It started with the 50-48 upset over T.C.U., then No. 14.
Since then, Griffin has been on the Heisman radar.
The Heisman View From Baylor: Robert Griffin III
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