Baylor QB Robert Griffin III has already impressed teams with his performance on the field. This week, he's hoping to let them see his personality.
INDIANAPOLIS – If there’s one player that could shape the way the entire 2012 NFL Draft turns out, it’s Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.
Griffin spent about 15 minutes with the media on Friday afternoon and in the process, displayed the charming personality that many believe will win over NFL teams much like it did the media.
“I hope somebody falls in love with me other than my fiancé,” Griffin said. “That’s what you want. As a player you want a team that really wants you. Head coach, GM, owner, everybody that really wants you in that place and the players believe in you. That’s what I’m looking forward to. I’m looking forward to making somebody fall in love with me.”
The enigmatic Griffin has a reputation for wearing cartoon character adorned socks, a quirky sense of humor and, of yeah, a dynamic package of skills that many believe will make him a franchise quarterback in the league for years to come.
Griffin wore Superman socks to the Heisman ceremony in New York and was rocking a pair of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles socks which he happily showed off when asked on the podium on Friday.
Some might see the socks as signs of goofiness and a lack of maturity but Griffin says he thinks of it as a way to show that he’s proud of who he is.
“It started my sophomore year in high school,” Griffin said. “I wasn’t one that really matched all that well. That’s why the socks usually never match anything I’m wearing. It’s to show I’m comfortable with who I am, I’m comfortable in my own skin. The socks are just a representation of that.”
The Rams sit in the catbird’s seat with the No. 2 pick and a franchise quarterback in 
That’s something the Rams have made it clear they will explore but there is time for that later. For now, it’s up to Griffin to solidify himself as, at worst, the No. 2 quarterback in the draft and potentially the second best player in the draft.
Rams general manager Les Snead said there is a lot to like about Griffin and he will unabashedly root for him not only because it helps strengthen the Rams’ trade leverage.
“Yes, I am probably rooting for him, but when you sit down and meet with that kid, he’s an impressive kid,” Snead said. “I’ve seen him play live since he was in his second year at Baylor and going through the injury. He’s a very impressive human being. I would pull for that guy whether we were sitting with the No. 2 pick or not.”
Griffin enters this week at the NFL Combine on the heels of an ultra-productive junior season in which he claimed the Heisman Trophy on the strength of 4,239 passing yards to go with 37 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
While Griffin has a reputation for his speed and athletic ability as a runner (he posted 699 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns), he wants to make it known that he’s a pocket passer first and his deep ball accuracy is one of the traits that stands above the rest when it comes to Griffin.
The tape will speak for itself when it comes to Griffin but he’s hoping that the chance to get to know teams this week will allow them to see the personality traits that can make him the face of a franchise.
When he was asked who, exactly, he is on Friday; he couldn’t help but feel like he was being put on the couch with Dr. Phil.
“Huh, huh. What? That sounds like a paper from my English class,” Griffin said, laughing. “Just the person that I am, some people think I came on the scene this year so they haven’t had as much time to evaluate me. So I’m just excited to really show them who I am as a person. Happy go lucky, like to make people laugh but know when to be serious as well.”
Griffin was even able to make light of one of the few criticisms that had chased him here to Lucas Oil Stadium. Listed at 6’2 his entire career at Baylor, many thought the Bears had been generous in their listing of his height.
Upon being measured at more than 6’2 on Friday morning, Griffin couldn’t help but emphasize the real measurement at every given opportunity.
“In high school I was 6-4, 200 pounds,” Griffin said. “So when I got to college I shrunk an inch and gained weight. I was 6-2, 220. I guess they thought I just shrunk some more, I was 6-foot and 190 now. It’s official, I’m 6-2 3/8 and 223. You try to block those things out, but at the end of the day the numbers don’t lie.”
With the height question out of the way, there are very few discernible weaknesses in Griffin’s game. Blessed with size, speed, arm strength, accuracy and intelligence, Griffin could even potentially push Stanford’s Andrew Luck as the best player in the draft.
Some might ask, then, why the Rams would be in such a rush to trade the opportunity to select him. But Snead and coach Jeff Fisher have made it clear that they believe in Bradford, who is only a year removed from being Offensive Rookie of the Year.
The possibility of a trade has nothing to do with how the Rams view Griffin and everything to do with their faith in Bradford.
According to Fisher, the only problem is that at some point the Rams will have to figure out a way to defend the dynamic Griffin.
“My concern with him is that we are eventually going to have to play against him,” Fisher said. “That’s a concern.”
BACKUP QB?: With all of the talk swirling the Rams as it pertains to offensive linemen and wide receivers, one spot that isn’t getting much mention is the backup quarterback job behind Bradford.
Veterans
That means the Rams will have to explore options for a potential veteran backup behind Bradford.
“We are going to look at that position,” Fisher said. “There may be some guys out there that we potentially could trade for a guy. But we need to consider that. I am not expecting (Sam) to be on the ground very much but you do need to have a backup.”
Fisher said Clemens and Feeley could be options. Clemens, in particular, has a history with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer from their time together with the New York Jets.
For his part, Clemens expressed interest in returning to St. Louis after he started the final three games of the season and had some success despite only being with the team a short time.
RICHARDSON DISAPPOINTED: Alabama running back Trent Richardson is the top running back in the draft, seemingly by a comfortable margin.
As such, Richardson not working out at the combine would seem to be a perfectly reasonable decision since many of the top talents elect to eschew the physical workouts here in favor of the more controlled environments of their pro day.
But Richardson is different. He had a knee scope after leading the Crimson Tide to the BCS championship and he is physically not cleared to perform here this weekend.
When Richardson spoke to the media on Friday, he expressed genuine anger about not being able to go out on the field and show out when the running backs work out on Sunday.
“Oh, yeah; I’m very disappointed I can’t do the stuff here that everybody else can do,” Richardson said. “In college it irked my nerves when I heard guys say they don’t want to this and that at the combine. That’s something that you dream of and want to do your whole life and being a college football player and a competitor, I always wanted to come to this and show all my skills. That’s what the top guys do.”
COMBINE BITS: The offensive linemen, kickers and punters began workouts on Saturday, running the 40-yard dash among the other position-specific drills…The offensive linemen did the bench press on Friday with Michigan’s David Molk leading the way as he put 225 pounds up 41 times. That was nine short of setting the record, a goal Molk had set on Thursday…With all offensive players having gone through the measurement portion of the combine, here’s a few superlatives: tallest: Ohio State OT Mike Adams, Colorado OL Ryan Miller and Wisconsin’s Josh Oglesby, who all checked in at 6’7 ¼…Shortest: Oregon State WR James Rodgers at 5’6 ¾…Heaviest: Georgia OL Cordy Glenn at 345 pounds…Lightest: Houston WR Patrick Edwards at 172 pounds…the defensive players started measurements and media on Saturday.
