Robert Lee Griffin III (born February 12, 1990), nicknamed RGIII, is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, most notably with the Washington Redskins. He played college football at Baylor University, winning the Heisman Trophy as a senior, and was selected second overall by the Redskins in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Griffin set league records for the highest rookie passer rating and touchdown–interception ratio, while leading the Redskins to their first division title since 1999. He received Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl honors, but was unable to duplicate his success due to a severe knee injury he suffered during the playoffs. Plagued by further injuries and inconsistent performances, Griffin lost his starting position in 2015 to Kirk Cousins, which led to Washington releasing him after the season. Griffin signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2016, but his tenure was also afflicted with injuries, resulting in his release by the season's end. After spending 2017 as a free agent, he joined the Baltimore Ravens in 2018 and played his last three seasons as a backup.
Early years and background
Griffin was born in Okinawa, Japan, where his parents, Robert Griffin Jr. and Jacqueline, both U.S. Army sergeants, were stationed. The family later lived at Fort Lewis near Tacoma, Washington, and then moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. They finally settled in Copperas Cove, Texas in 1997 after retiring from the military.
Griffin's paternal grandfather, Robert Griffin Sr., was a foreman for a New Orleans construction company. He suffered from glaucoma for several years, and died in 1984 at age 43 from a brain aneurysm. Financial hardship caused the family to move to the Desire Projects neighborhood. Griffin's father was a basketball player at Kennedy High School and enlisted in the Army before he graduated. He met his wife Jacqueline (née Ross) while stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado.
High school career
Griffin attended Copperas Cove High School in Texas, where he was a three-sport star in basketball, football, and track for the Bulldawgs. He started at quarterback for two seasons. During his junior season, he passed for 2,001 yards and 25 touchdowns with 2 interceptions, while compiling 876 rushing yards for 8 touchdowns. He received first-team All-District 16-4A honors after the season. As a senior, he recorded 1,285 rushing yards, posting 24 touchdowns, and passed for 1,356 yards for 16 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. In his senior season Copperas Cove finished with a record of 13–2, but lost in the championship game of the 2007 Class 4A Division I state playoffs. Over the two seasons, he rushed for a total of 2,161 yards and 32 touchdowns while passing for 3,357 yards and 41 touchdowns with 9 interceptions. He went to and lost 2 state championships.
Track
In track, Griffin broke Texas state records for the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles. He ran the 110-meter hurdles in 13.55 seconds and the 300-meter hurdles in 35.33 seconds. The 300 hurdles time was 1/100th of a second short of tying the national high school record at the time. He was also a gold medalist in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles on the AAU track and field circuit. In 2007, as a junior, he was rated the No. 1 high school 400-meter intermediate hurdler in the country, and was tied at No. 1 for the 110-meter sprint hurdler in the nation. His personal best in the 110-meter hurdles, 13.46 sec, ranked fifth in the world among junior athletes in 2007 (behind Artur Noga, Ryan Brathwaite, Johnny Dutch, and Vladimir Zhukov), while his best 2007 time in the 400-meter hurdles, 49.56 sec—his personal best until 2008—led all juniors worldwide for that year. Also as a junior, Griffin received the Gatorade Texas Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year award, and was named to USA Today′s 2007 All-USA Track and Field team. His personal best in the 400-meter hurdles was achieved on May 18, 2008, with a time of 49.22 seconds.
College recruitment
Rivals.com, a college football recruiting service, ranked Griffin the fourth-best dual-threat quarterback in the nation and the 42nd-best player in Texas in the high school prospect class of 2008. During the college recruiting period, Griffin was pursued by Stanford, Tennessee, Kansas, Nebraska, Houston, Tulsa, Illinois, Washington State, and Oregon. Griffin initially committed to play for Houston under head coach Art Briles. When Briles left Houston to take the head coaching position at Baylor, Griffin switched his commitment and eventually signed a letter of intent to play for Baylor, in part because the university also had a top track and field program.