Robert Griffin III of Baylor won the 2011 Heisman Trophy Saturday night, beating out Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, in a moment he called “unbelievably believable.”
The versatile quarterback nicknamed RG3 became the first Baylor player to ever win college football's highest honor in the 77 years it has been awarded.
“Now at least we have one. And hopefully we’ll have more in the future,” Griffin said moments after receiving the award in the Best Buy Theater in Times Square.
Both a passing and rushing threat, he threw 36 touchdowns and passed for 3,998 yards, and was second in the country in total offense with 387 yards per game.
Griffin thanked his teammates, his parents and fiancé, friends, teammates, coaches – “and God, for giving me all of these great people to be in my life. I thank you.”
Griffin took 405 first-place votes and 1,687 points to defeat Luck, who came up short in his second appearance as a Heisman finalist. He received 247 first-place votes and 1,407 points.
Griffin wore Superman socks, complete with a cape, to the Heisman ceremony. He claimed the Davey O’Brien award as the nation’s best quarterback Thursday.
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Luck, expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft, won the Maxwell Award and the Johnny Unitas Award on Friday.
He said Griffin's win was "very much well-deserved."
Also in the running for the Heisman were Montee Ball of Wisconsin, who led the nation with 1,759 rushing yards and 32 rushing TDs; Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu, an LSU cornerback who had 71 tackles, five forced fumble and two interceptions for the Tigers, leading them to a 13-0 season; and Trent Richardson, who topped the 100-yard rushing mark in nine of his 12 games for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
