Robert Griffin III took home the 2011 Heisman Trophy Saturday evening, edging out Stanford QB Andrew Luck by 280 points. Luck put together a very solid 2011 regular season, but the flash and sizzle of RG3 was enough to get him over the hump as he became the first Baylor player to take home the Heisman.
Naturally, in this era of finding the next big thing yesterday and picking apart people at the top, the topic has now switched from who deserved the Heisman Trophy to who should be the number one pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. Both technically still have to declare for the draft as they both have eligibility remaining. Luck is strongly expected to declare while Griffin remains a mystery.
Andrew Luck entered the season as the consensus pick to win the Heisman and also the consensus pick to be the number one pick of the upcoming draft. While he put together a very solid 2011 season, he likely did not have enough sizzle moments that can define a player's Heisman candidacy. Griffin on the other hand had several such moments throughout the season and was rewarded accordingly.
Now, word has it that some NFL executives might be having second thoughts about Luck as the best option for the number one pick. There are reportedly some NFL executives who claim to prefer Griffin to Luck based in part on everything from his ridiculous athleticism to his high completion percentage and the way he carries himself.
Some would say the only opinion that matters is that of the Indianapolis Colts front office, since they have the number one pick. If Griffin emerges as a potential alternative to Luck, it creates a whole host of question marks about the Colts intentions as well as well potential trade opportunities with the number two team and anybody else around.
It is easy to get excited about the next big thing. That is not to say RG3 is not going to be a successful NFL quarterback, but teams would still be foolish to quickly move past Andrew Luck just because of the shiny new toy. Luck can make the NFL throws and has the intelligence to run an offense and be the centerpiece of a team.
However this plays out, the next four or so months will be incredibly interesting as the NFL and college players work their way through the annual draft process.