Baylor's Robert Griffin III Reveals Mack Brown's Postgame Longhorns Recruiting Pitch
Former Baylor Bears quarterback Robert Griffin III proved a whole nation of doubters wrong in 2011 when he became the first player in program history to win the Heisman Trophy.
But three years prior, the always-humble Griffin III was getting the Texas Longhorns and legendary coach Mack Brown to eat their words, even after a loss his first-ever meeting against the I-35 rival during his freshman season in 2008.
In a recent interview with Austin's KVUE News, Griffin revealed that Brown approached him with an interesting postgame recruiting pitch that would've significantly altered the future of both programs.
Griffin III was a track star with elite speed and athleticism entering college. Not many schools saw him as a quarterback, but he still received a handful of offers from top programs like LSU and Texas that recognized his game-changing skills as an athlete.
"I told every coach that offered me as an athlete - Texas was one, LSU was one when Les Miles was there - that I respect them and I appreciate the offer, but I'm gonna have to go ahead and decline," Griffin III said. "I didn't want to string anybody along cause I knew I was gonna be a quarterback and I was gonna play quarterback."
The 3-6 Bears marched into Austin to face the No. 5 Longhorns, who were in the prime days of all-time Texas quarterback Colt McCoy. Griffin III and Baylor as a whole were still somewhat irrelevant on the national stage.
But Brown made sure Griffin's abilities were recognized with a postgame scholarship offer to come play for Texas.
"So the funny thing for me was my freshman year at Baylor, we were playing against Texas which was I think a top-five team at the time, might've been one or two in the country," Griffin III said. "It was 20-20 at halftime, they end up beating us 42-20 in that game and after the game ... Mack Brown came up to me and said 'man we really messed up when we didn't give that offer to you as a quarterback, didn't we?' And he actually offered me a scholarship on the spot in the middle of the field after the game to transfer to Texas and play for him. Ultimately I decided to stay at Baylor and I think that was the best decision for me."
Griffin III's recollection is slightly off, as Texas won 45-21. But the final score in a loss is hardly the thing he remembers the most from a game that featured an interesting postgame moment. His passing production as a freshman was a shade of what it would become, as he went 6-19 passing for 71 yards, with a touchdown, and a pick in the loss. But the Heisman-winning dual-threat ability was on full display, proof from his 13 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Brown knew McCoy would be leaving soon and wanted to secure a quarterback of the future in Austin. Instead of rubbing the offer in his face as a sort of "told you so," Griffin III took the pitch as flattering gesture, even if he knew he'd never actually consider transferring.
"I'm not an arrogant guy, so I didn't say 'yeah, you definitely messed up on that one,'" Griffin III said with a laugh. "I just said 'thank you, coach. I appreciate that. Looking forward to competing against you guys next year."
Injury held Griffin III out of the Texas matchup the following season against a Longhorns team that made it all the way to the National Championship. But after that, he and the Bears would win the final two meetings of his career against the Longhorns. The final meeting came when No. 19 Baylor dominated No. 21 Texas in a 48-24 win in Austin just a few weeks before Griffin III was officially awarded the Heisman Trophy.
Griffin III's electric playmaking ability could've earned him the Heisman regardless of where he went to school. But despite the offer from one of the country's best programs at the time, his commitment to Waco helped vault Baylor into national recognition that the team continues to build off of to this day.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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