RG3 wins first Heisman Trophy for Baylor
Published 8:59 am Monday, December 12, 2011
NEW YORK — Robert Griffin III is Baylor’s Superman and when he won the Heisman Trophy he was wearing the socks to prove it.
Who knows? Maybe they even helped him outluck Andrew Luck.
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. When it was announced he broke into a bright smile, his face framed by his long braided hair. Then it was hugs all around, for his coaches, his parents, his sister and his fiance.
He took a few long strides up to the stage and let out a laugh when he got there, making a joke about the Superman socks — complete with capes on the back — he was wearing before going into his acceptance speech.
“This is unbelievably believable,” he said. “It’s unbelievable because in the moment we’re all amazed when great things happen. But it’s believable because great things don’t happen without hard work.”
Griffin started the season on the fringe of the Heisman conversation, a talented and exciting player on a marginal team, while Luck was already being touted as a No. 1 NFL draft pick.
Draft day might very well still belong to Luck, but Griffin diverted the Heisman to Waco, Texas, to a school that has never had a player finish better than fourth in the voting — and that was 48 years ago.
Griffin received 405 first-place votes and 1,687 points.
“Everybody associated with Baylor has a reason to celebrate tonight,” he said.