Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III is not short on confidence. He knows what he can do on the football field.
"I can run with the best of them," Griffin said. "I can throw with the best of them."
A hyper-athletic, dual-threat signal-caller, Griffin burst onto the Big 12 scene during his freshman season in 2008. Wowing coaches and befuddling opposing defenses with his uncanny athleticism, Griffin compiled 28 total touchdowns.
A torn-ACL in the team's first game in 2009 was, at the time, a major detour in a career that looked like it could live on in Baylor lore.
However, during his redshirt sophomore season, a healthy Griffin proved that his freshman campaign wasn't a fluke. He proved that the knee was healthy. In throwing for 3,501 yards and 22 touchdowns, he also proved that his game had undergone a transformation; that Griffin could truly beat teams both on the ground and through the air.
And coach Art Briles thinks the knee -- and Griffin for that matter -- will be better in 2011.
"I think it takes an ACL a full year to really feel comfortable about what you're doing," Briles said. "So this year, starting out, we know where he's at. We know what he can do on the field. And so there won't be any questions when we jump on the field Sept. 2 concerning that."
It'll be tough for Griffin to top his accomplishments in 2010. Along with his gaudy numbers in the passing game, he ran for 635 yards and eight touchdowns. More importantly, though, he was at the forefront of a program's revival as Baylor qualified for a bowl game for the first time since 1994.
Although the team was handed a 38-14 loss at the hands of Illinois in the Texas Bowl, Griffin took the extra practice time and overall experience of playing under the bright lights as a positive.
"We practiced a lot more, our young guys got better," Griffin said. "You get more time with your players. We felt it in the spring because we were so far advanced."
Baylor is a program that took a huge step in 2010. A victory in Austin over rival Texas was undoubtedly a seminal moment in a season where the Bears made football relevant in Waco again. But with success comes expectations.
"I judge myself on wins and losses and our job is to win a lot of games," Griffin said. "So those are the expectations."
Though the offense must replace leading rusher Jay Finley, it is a unit widely projected to make noise throughout the conference. Four offensive linemen and a bevy of talented receivers return. And at the helm, it's Griffin -- which gives them a chance to be special.
"It's about paying attention to the little details, about staying on the field, about moving the ball and scoring touchdowns," he said. "So we're going to continue to put up numbers and put up points."
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