Baylor's Robert Griffin III is drawing a lot of buzz during the lead-up to the 2012 NFL draft. The 2011 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback has several teams interested in drafting him near the top of the draft and could go as high as No. 2 if the St. Louis Rams decide to trade that pick to a team in need of a signal-caller.

But while Griffin is a great prospect who could turn into a legit NFL quarterback, he will always live in the shadow of Stanford's Andrew Luck.

The problem for Griffin is that he is entering the league at the wrong time, since the world has known Luck would be the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft for over a year now. The Stanford product is easily the most hyped quarterback prospect in NFL history, and his every move will be closely watched and scrutinized.

Meanwhile, Griffin will likely live in relative anonymity by comparison, which actually could be a good thing for his development. The problem is, Luck is the golden boy who will surely earn tons of accolades if he is successful, while Griffin will have to work much harder to earn that same level of respect.

Quarterbacks taken in the same year are almost always compared to each other down the road. And for Griffin, he is stepping into the league in the same year as a guy who has essentially already been anointed a perennial Pro Bowler.

Griffin will always have to live with the comparisons to Luck and will have to work that much harder to earn the kind of respect he might deserve. It's a challenge that I'm sure he won't take lightly.