Robert Griffin (American football)
Encyclopedia
Robert Lee Griffin III is the starting quarterback
for the Baylor Bears
college football
team. As a true freshman, he earned Big 12 Conference
Offensive Freshman of the Year honors.
, where his parents, both retired U.S. Army Sergeants
, were stationed. The family later lived in the U.S. State of Washington, and then moved to New Orleans, before finally settling in Copperas Cove, Texas
in 1997.
for two seasons. During his junior season, he passed for 2,001 yards and 25 touchdowns with two interceptions, while compiling 876 rushing yards for 8 touchdowns. He received first-team All-District 16-4A honors after the season. As a senior, he recorded 1,285 rushing yards, posting 24 touchdowns, and also passed 1,356 yards for 16 touchdowns with seven interceptions. In his senior season Copperas Cove finished with a record of 13–2, and lost in the championship game of the 2007 Class 4A Division I state playoffs. Over the two seasons, he rushed for a total of 2,161 yards and 32 touchdowns, while passing for 3,357 yards and 41 touchdowns with nine interceptions.
, a college football recruiting service, ranked Griffin the fourth-best dual-threat quarterback in the nation and the 42nd-best player in Texas in the high school prospect class of 2008. During the college recruiting period, Griffin was pursued by Stanford
, Tennessee, Kansas
, Nebraska
, Houston
, Tulsa
, Illinois, Washington State
, and Oregon
. Griffin initially committed to play for the University of Houston
under head coach Art Briles
. When Briles left Houston to take the head coaching position at Baylor, Griffin switched his commitment and eventually signed a National Letter of Intent
to play for Baylor.
and NCAA meets; he also broke the NCAA Midwest Regional 400-meter hurdles record. He placed third in the NCAA meet and also participated in the U.S. Olympic Trials, in which he advanced to the Semi-Finals. He is currently studying for a Masters in Communications.
Griffin garnered Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors from the league's coaches (who are not allowed to vote for their own players) as well as the media.
The team finished the season with a 4–8 record (2–6 Big 12).
Season record was 4–8 (1–7 Big 12).
Baylor finished the season 7–6 (4–4 Big 12).
. The Bears took a 47-23 lead into the 4th quarter, and were able to fight off a comeback after TCU gained the lead 48-47 briefly, only for Baylor to kick the game winning field goal and win 50-48. They pulled off the upset in large part to Griffin's performance, who passed for 359 yards, 5 touchdowns and a 77.8% completion percentage. Following the win, Baylor entered the AP Poll rankings for only the third time in the previous 15 seasons, at 20th, and Griffin was considered by many to be a Heisman Trophy
candidate. After a bye week, Baylor shut out Stephen F. Austin University 48-0 and Griffin went 20 of 22 (90.9%) for 247 yards and 3 touchdowns and ran for 78 yards. In week 4, Griffin ushered Baylor to their third win, beating Rice University 56-31. Griffin completed 29 of 33 passes (87.9%) for 338 yards with 51 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the Baylor Bears
Baylor Bears football
The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. The team plays its home games at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.-History:...
college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
team. As a true freshman, he earned Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
Offensive Freshman of the Year honors.
Early life and high school career
Griffin was born in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where his parents, both retired U.S. Army Sergeants
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
, were stationed. The family later lived in the U.S. State of Washington, and then moved to New Orleans, before finally settling in Copperas Cove, Texas
Copperas Cove, Texas
Copperas Cove is a city located in central Texas at the southern corner of Coryell County, with city limits extending into neighboring Bell and Lampasas Counties. Founded in 1879 as a small ranching and farming community, today the city is the largest in Coryell County, with more than 30,000...
in 1997.
Football
Griffin attended Copperas Cove High School, where he was a three-sport star in basketball, football, and track. He started at quarterbackQuarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for two seasons. During his junior season, he passed for 2,001 yards and 25 touchdowns with two interceptions, while compiling 876 rushing yards for 8 touchdowns. He received first-team All-District 16-4A honors after the season. As a senior, he recorded 1,285 rushing yards, posting 24 touchdowns, and also passed 1,356 yards for 16 touchdowns with seven interceptions. In his senior season Copperas Cove finished with a record of 13–2, and lost in the championship game of the 2007 Class 4A Division I state playoffs. Over the two seasons, he rushed for a total of 2,161 yards and 32 touchdowns, while passing for 3,357 yards and 41 touchdowns with nine interceptions.
Track
In track, he broke state records for the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles. He ran the 110-meter hurdles in 13.55 seconds, and the 300-meter hurdles in 35.33 seconds. The 300-hurdles time was one-hundredth of a second short of breaking the national high school record. He was also a gold medalist in the 110 and 400-meter hurdles on the AAU track and field circuit. He sprinted 13.46 in the 110-meter hurdles and 49.56 in the 400-meter hurdles as a junior in high school. In 2007, as a junior, he was rated the No. 1 high school 400-meter immediate hurdler in the country, and was tied at No. 1 for the 110-meter sprint hurdler in the nation. Also as a junior, he received the Gatorade Texas Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year award.College recruitment
Rivals.comRivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
, a college football recruiting service, ranked Griffin the fourth-best dual-threat quarterback in the nation and the 42nd-best player in Texas in the high school prospect class of 2008. During the college recruiting period, Griffin was pursued by Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Tennessee, Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, Nebraska
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...
, Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, Tulsa
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...
, Illinois, Washington State
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
, and Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. Griffin initially committed to play for the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
under head coach Art Briles
Art Briles
Arthur Ray Briles is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at Baylor University, a position he has held since the 2008 season. From 2002 to 2007, Briles was the head coach at the University of Houston.-Playing career:A native of Rule, Texas, Briles...
. When Briles left Houston to take the head coaching position at Baylor, Griffin switched his commitment and eventually signed a National Letter of Intent
National Letter of Intent
The National Letter of Intent is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating NCAA colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manages the daily operations of the NLI program while the Collegiate Commissioners Association provides...
to play for Baylor.
College career
Griffin graduated high school a semester early and began attending Baylor in the spring 2008 semester at 17 years old. He joined the track team, and finished first place in the 400-meter hurdles at both the Big 12 ConferenceBig 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
and NCAA meets; he also broke the NCAA Midwest Regional 400-meter hurdles record. He placed third in the NCAA meet and also participated in the U.S. Olympic Trials, in which he advanced to the Semi-Finals. He is currently studying for a Masters in Communications.
2008 season
Griffin started 11 of 12 games his freshman season. In the upset 41–21 victory over the Aggies, he recorded 13-of-23 passes for 241 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and no sacks.Griffin garnered Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors from the league's coaches (who are not allowed to vote for their own players) as well as the media.
The team finished the season with a 4–8 record (2–6 Big 12).
2009 season
Griffin sat out for the remainder of the 2009 season after sustaining an isolated tear to his ACL in the first half of the third game and his third start of his sophomore year. The Bears picked up a 68-13 victory over Northwestern State.Season record was 4–8 (1–7 Big 12).
2010 season
Griffin was granted redshirt status so he entered the 2010 season as a redshirt sophomore. According to the bylaws, players who are injured after playing less than 30 percent of the season may be eligible (Griffin was injured during game three of 12 of the 2009 season, with 25 percent of the season completed)..Baylor finished the season 7–6 (4–4 Big 12).
2011 season
Coming into the 2011 season, the Baylor Bears were not expected to do well, being picked 6th in the Big 12 preseason poll. The Bears opened the season with 15th ranked TCUTCU Horned Frogs football
The TCU Horned Frogs football team is the intercollegiate football team of Texas Christian University. TCU competes as a member of the Mountain West Conference in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, but will move to the Big 12 Conference for the 2012 season. TCU began playing football...
. The Bears took a 47-23 lead into the 4th quarter, and were able to fight off a comeback after TCU gained the lead 48-47 briefly, only for Baylor to kick the game winning field goal and win 50-48. They pulled off the upset in large part to Griffin's performance, who passed for 359 yards, 5 touchdowns and a 77.8% completion percentage. Following the win, Baylor entered the AP Poll rankings for only the third time in the previous 15 seasons, at 20th, and Griffin was considered by many to be a Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
candidate. After a bye week, Baylor shut out Stephen F. Austin University 48-0 and Griffin went 20 of 22 (90.9%) for 247 yards and 3 touchdowns and ran for 78 yards. In week 4, Griffin ushered Baylor to their third win, beating Rice University 56-31. Griffin completed 29 of 33 passes (87.9%) for 338 yards with 51 yards rushing and a touchdown.
College awards and honors
- 2011 Finalist for Davey O'Brien Award
- 2010 Semifinalist for Maxwell Player
- 2010 Semifinalist for Walter Campbell Player of the Year
- 2010 Baylor's Kyle Woods Inspirational Leader
- 2008 Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year (as selected by the league's coaches and the media)
- 2008 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week (received honor for the week of September 7–14, 2008; Griffin led the Bears to a 45–17 victory over Washington State on September 12, breaking various school records in the process)
- 2008 Sporting News and Rivals.comRivals.comRivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
freshman first team All-American - 2008 Big 12 gold medalist (400m hurdles)
- 2008 Track & Field All-American (400m hurdles)
- 2008 Baylor Offensive MVP
School records
- 2008 Rushing yards by a freshman: 843
- 2008 Rushing yards by a QB: 843
- 2008 Rushing yards Per attempt (Game): 20.45 vs. Washington State, (11 for 225 yards)
- 2008 Rushing TDs (Season): 13 (tied)
- 2008 Rushing TDs by a QB (Season): 13
- Rushing TDs by a QB (Career): 23
- 100-yard Rushing games by QB (Season): 4
- 100-yard Rushing games by QB (Career): 5