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DHQ Player Profile: Baylor QB Robert Griffin III
The next of several player profiles that Shawn will be showcasing from his 2012 Draft Preview over the course of the spring, here is Shawn's profile on Baylor QB Robert Griffin III:
Robert Griffin III - Baylor - 6-2 - 223 - Junior - (No. 2 overall) 40 = 4.41 The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner as the best college football player in the country, Robert Griffin III is a special talent with the type of elite physical tools and mental makeup that rarely comes along. A three-year starter with 40 career starts for the Bears, Griffin re-wrote the record books at Baylor, having set 26 single-season, 20 career and eight single-game marks in his four years in Waco. Over the course of his career, Robert threw for 10,366 yards, 78 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions with a 67.1% completion percentage (800-1,192) while rushing for 2,254 yards and 33 touchdowns on 528 carries; his best statistical season came during his Heisman Trophy-winning junior year in which he threw for 4,293 yards, 37 touchdowns, and just six interceptions with a 72.4% completion percentage (291-402) and rushed for 699 yards and 10 touchdowns on 179 carries. Griffin brings elite intangibles, leadership, intelligence, and the work ethic that coaches and scouts dream about; he's a very confident player who got the job done off the field as well, earning numerous academic honors in addition to ranking seventh in his class and being his class president in high school. The way that he led the Bears during his junior season is something that simply can't be taught and brought back memories of Cam Newton's spectacular season in 2010. At Baylor, Robert led his team to victories over Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, TCU, and Washington in 2011, an enormous feat for a school that used to be considered one of the bottom-feeders of the Big 12. He has that "it factor" that talent evaluators look very closely for at the quarterback position. Having been scouting Griffin since he was a junior in high school, there is no doubt in my mind that he magically transformed from an athlete playing quarterback to a quarterback who is a phenomenal athlete in 2011. That transition began with his accuracy. Robert's completion percentage improved every year of his career (59.9% in 2008, 65.2% in 2009, 67.0% in 2010 in limited work, and 72.4% in 2011), showing his great work ethic and that he can be coached. Early in his career, I held the belief with Griffin that if somehow he could develop and polish his ability to throw the ball as well as improve his understanding of the offense he was running, he'd have the type of talent to do something special with it; it's almost inconceivable how much he improved from 2010 to 2011. To his credit, he has finally been able to capitalize on the limitless ceiling that he seems to have. Owning a fine build with enough height to see the field clearly, Griffin's raw athleticism allows for him to stay on the balls of his feet and move about the pocket with ease. Robert has a very strong arm to drive the ball down the field, as the ball simply explodes off of his arm with a simple flick of the wrist. He is more than capable of making any throw that an NFL quarterback needs to make. Of Griffin's 37 touchdown passes in 2011, 18 of them went for 35+ yards, showing his tremendous ability to throw the ball down the field accurately. In addition, he owns some of the best velocity that I've seen in the past six years, delivering the ball on a rope down the field. Griffin has a very quick release, showing the ability to deliver the ball in a hurry when being pressured. In his mechanics, he has a bit of a 3/4's to side-arm delivery at times, however when he plants his feet and steps into his throw, this should not be an issue. When he begins to scramble outside of the pocket, that is when the angle of his throwing motion tends to dip; this is a minor concern that may not need to be tweaked, but at least is worth mentioning. As mentioned, Robert's accuracy early in his career was not something to get excited about, often displaying the erratic passing that would lead you to believe that he was far from being an NFL prospect; in 2011, that accuracy improve to the point that he was capable of making any throw he wanted to. He showed a terrific ability to fire the ball into tight windows as well as use pinpoint accuracy down the field to drop the ball in the bucket in the only place that his receiver could make the catch. Griffin has done a great job of developing touch on his throws as well; early in his career, he floated the ball more than throwing it with precision, however he has improved to great extents his ability to put proper touch on his throws down the field, especially in putting it in the proper position for his receiver to run right underneath it. In addition to his accuracy, Griffin also developed his decision making and game managing skills, and as his just 17 career interceptions has shown, he does a fantastic job of taking care of the football and making good decisions. Having played in Baylor's spread offense, Robert has spent the majority of his career out of the shotgun and will need to get used to playing under center. However, as he's shown throughout his career, if he works hard at it, there should be no need to worry about whether he'll be capable of doing it. If I have any doubts, it's not with Griffin's physical tools, but rather with the mental aspect of the game. At Baylor, the Bears ran a "check-with-me" system in which Robert would walk to the line before his offensive coordinator sitting in the booth would read the defense, send an audible down to the sideline, and they would signal the call into Griffin, who would then change the play. The reason that I have more hesitation with Griffin than Andrew Luck is because Robert has not displayed the ability to walk up to the line, read the defense, and begin to change the play, or adjust the offensive line's protection scheme. While I'm not saying that he can't do it in the NFL, he just simply hasn't shown whether or not he can yet. As Cam Newton showed last year, this could be something to disregard completely after he learned how to do it, however it's likely the only question mark that I see in Robert's game. He's shown enough of an ability to go through his reads and progressions in college to suggest that he can continue to develop here, and being that he's a smart and instinctive player, I don't see any need to worry about him being able to continue to develop this ability at the next level. A former track star who advanced to the semifinals of the US Olympic trials in the 400-meter hurdles, Griffin's athleticism is rare and simply stunning at times. He's shown a consistent ability to escape the pocket while making plays that can only be described as special. His mobility is the best that I've seen in six years and he likely is the most athletic quarterback to enter the NFL since Michael Vick. Griffin has the straight-line speed (4.41 40) to out-run any defender to the end zone while also possessing the quick-twitch agility, explosion, and natural running style needed to make any defender miss in the open field. When he gets out in space with the ball in his hand, he has what it takes to take the ball the distance any time he moves past the line of scrimmage. Robert is an explosive athlete with the burst and acceleration to make plays in small spaces, and has even displayed his hurdling ability from track in jumping over oncoming defenders. His pocket presence is very good, showing the natural feel for where the pass rush is coming from, and possesses the vision to find the open crease in the defense and run through it to free himself from traffic. While he was given the freedom to tuck the ball and run if nothing was open down the field, this is something that he may have to adjust to in the NFL if his coaches don't want him to take off quite as often; with an athlete like Robert, there shouldn't be hesitation in letting him run, as he has the type of special traits that don't come along very often and he is a smart player who understands when to run. Durability does not figure to be a concern with Robert, however he did tear the ACL in his right knee three games into the 2009 season, which forced him to sit out the rest of the year. However, he bounced back and did not show any effects from the injury in 2010 or 2011. I project that Griffin will be drafted in the first round, likely as the second overall player drafted. Robert Griffin III is a special player both physically and mentally, offering elite athletic tools, however also owning the type of confidence, leadership, and mental makeup that is rare. He's a complete prospect at the position and has everything that you look for in a future franchise quarterback in the NFL. The sky is the limit for Griffin's upside and potential, and I expect to see him have a long, very successful career at the next level. Notes: In addition to winning the Heisman Trophy in 2011, Robert also won the Davey O'Brien Award and Manning Award as well as being named first-team All-American and first-team All-Big 12. A former top recruit coming out of Copperas Cove High School in Texas, Robert was rated as a four-star prospect, the No. 4 dual-threat quarterback in the country, as well as the No. 42 player in the state of Texas by Rivals.com; he turned down reported offers from Nebraska, Tennessee, Kansas, and Houston to stay home and play for Baylor. Owning a 25-4 record as his high school's starting quarterback in two years, Robert threw for 3,357 yards and 41 touchdowns in addition to rushing for 2,161 yards and 32 touchdowns between those two seasons. After graduating from his high school early, Robert enrolled early at Baylor where he ran on the track team. After breaking the state records in high school for the 110 and 300-meter hurdles, the 300-meter time being one-hundredth of a second off the national prep record, he broke the NCAA Midwest Regional 400-meter hurdles record as a freshman at Baylor.
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