Heisman Watch: Robert Griffin Deserves to Win, but He Doesn't Stand a Chance

There’s no questioning that the two most impressive individual college football players of the 2011 season have been Baylor QB Robert Griffin III and Alabama RB Trent Richardson.

After wowing onlookers all season long, both Griffin and Richardson will likely find themselves sitting in New York City on Dec. 10 for the Heisman ceremony; however, it’s Richardson who will likely be the favorite to take home the prestigious award.

The question of who truly deserves the Heisman is a whole different matter, though.

Griffin started building his Heisman momentum last season, when he returned from a knee injury and revived the Baylor football program, carrying the Bears to their first bowl appearance in 16 years.

Even though his knee wasn’t even fully healed yet, Griffin still managed to put up eye-popping numbers as a sophomore, racking up 4,000 total yards of offense and scoring 30 touchdowns.

That was only just a preview of what was to come this year, though, as the junior signal-caller has truly elevated his game and become one of the breakout stars of 2011.

Griffin may not have received the same type of offseason Heisman hype and publicity as guys like Trent Richardson, Andrew Luck, Landry Jones and LaMichael James, but he’s shown this season that the media was silly not to include him in the Heisman discussion over the summer.

We learned that on the first Friday night of the season, when Griffin tore TCU's once highly respected defense to pieces, throwing for 359 yards and five touchdowns in the 50-48 victory.

Yes, Baylor is 8-3 for a reason, and that reason is Robert Griffin III.

RG3 has completed 72 percent of his passes, has thrown for 3,678 yards and has hit 34 touchdown strikes.

Griffin has everything you look for in a quarterback—strong arm, intelligence, good pocket presence, plus he has the rare speed and explosiveness to add a valued scrambling dimension to his game.

He might just actually have what it takes to challenge Stanford’s Luck for the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft. That is, if he doesn’t decide to come back to Baylor.

Griffin may not be able to overtake Trent Richardson this time around, but if he comes back for his senior season, he’ll be the overwhelming favorite to be the 2012 award winner. It will be Griffin who receives the college football god-like treatment throughout the summer that Luck received this year.

Because Baylor’s 8-3, and because he has two bad losses to Oklahoma State and Texas A&M on his resume, there’s very little chance of Griffin winning the Heisman this year, however, he’s still managed to accomplish a lot this season.

He’s been one of the biggest stars of the season, he’s wowed NFL scouts, he's elevated an entire football program, and oh yeah, he's set himself up to be the 2012 Heisman front-runner if he decides to make another run at the award.

Griffin has already solidified himself as a future Top-5 draft pick, but if he doesn’t take home the statue this year, he’ll have to weigh his options and decide if he’s ready for the pros or if he’s ready to be next year’s Heisman favorite.

A second-place finish may be the best thing he can hope for this season, but if Griffin decides to come back for one more year, then prepare for the onslaught of RG3 hype that will come your way all offseason long.

The great thing is, he’ll deserve every second of it.