(This is the ninth in a series of features on Baylor Athletics' 25 for 25, which honors Baylor's top 25 athletes in the 25-year history of the Big 12 Conference (1996-21). Selected by a panel of Baylor experts, the final list was picked from a pool of over 100 candidates that came from all 19 intercollegiate sports that the school offers. Over the next couple of months, two honorees per week will be released and will also be featured during game broadcasts on the Baylor Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.)
 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Even if the school never wins another Heisman Trophy, "Baylor is always, forever, in this fraternity," said 2011 winner Robert Griffin III.
            "We had (no pictures) hanging up, but now we'll at least have one. And hopefully we'll have more in the future," said RG3, who passed for a school-record 10,366 yards and 78 touchdowns while leading the Bears to their second-ever 10-win season. "But, to be a part of these guys behind me (the other Heisman winners), to be a part of greatness, you can't ask for more."
            One of the biggest highlights in Baylor Athletics' transformational "Year of the Bear," RG3 led the Bears to a 10-3 season and shootout Alamo Bowl victory over Washington and edged Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck in the final Heisman balloting.
            In his memorable Heisman speech, Griffin said, "The hotter the heat, the harder the steel. No pressure, no diamonds. We compete, we win. We are Baylor. Baylor we are and Baylor we'll always be, but it's up to us to define what that means, and this Heisman Trophy is only the beginning of that process.
"To Baylor Nation, I say this is a forever kind of moment. May we be blessed to have many more like it in the future. God always has a plan, and it's our job to fulfill it. And in this moment, we have."
A consensus All-American who also won the Davey O'Brien and Manning awards, RG3 passed for a school-record 4,293 yards and 37 touchdowns that season, added 699 yards and 10 TDs rushing, caught one pass for 15 yards and even punted three times.
You can argue that Griffin had several "Heisman moments." He threw five touchdown passes and engineered a game-winning drive to beat defending Rose Bowl champion TCU, 50-48, in the opener; helped the Bears overcome a 21-point deficit with three fourth-quarter TD passes in a 31-30 overtime victory on the road at Kansas; and capped it off with a 48-24 win over Texas in the regular-season finale.
Interviewed on the field after the Texas game, he said, "I could be wrong, but I think Baylor won its first Heisman tonight . . . We felt like if we came out and got a victory, then we should win the Heisman."
As he noted three days later, "people forget the fact that I didn't say I won the Heisman, that I'm the greatest guy ever. I was just saying to the world that they said we needed to beat Texas, and we beat them decisively."
But, if there was one defining "Heisman moment" it was the 45-38 win over Oklahoma – Baylor's first-ever against the Sooners – when Griffin passed for a school-record 476 yards and hit Terrance Williams for a 34-yard TD pass with eight seconds left.
"Robert Griffin's the best in the game," running back Terrance Ganaway said. "When the ball's in his hands, expect big things."
Taken with the No. 2 overall pick by the Washington Redskins in the 2012 NFL Draft, Griffin passed for 3,200 yards and 20 touchdowns and added 815 yards and seven TDs rushing in leading Washington to the NFC East title and earning NFL Rookie of the Year honors and a Pro Bowl selection.
Including a knee injury at the end of his rookie season, RG3 has had a series of injuries that have plagued him in an eight-year NFL career that included stops in Cleveland and Baltimore. On the day that he was released by the Ravens after their playoff exit, Griffin tweeted, "The best is yet to come."
For his NFL career, Griffin has thrown for 9,271 yards and 43 touchdowns and added 1,809 yards and 10 TDs on the ground.
Two years ago, he returned to Baylor for the RGIII Quarterback Academy, saying it was "time to come back."
 
Previous:
Dawn Greathouse Siergij, Soccer (1997-2000)
Benedikt Dorsch, Men's Tennis (2002-05)
Corey Coleman, Football (2013-15)
Whitney Canion Reichenstein, Softball (2009-14)
Trayvon Bromell, Men's T&F (2014-15)
Stacey Bowers-Smith, Women's T&F (1996-99)
Andrew Billings, Football (2013-15)
Benjamin Becker, Men's Tennis (2001-05)