Jeff Lebby recalls his favorite Robert Griffin III moments at Baylor

Jeff Lebby brings experience working with several star quarterbacks during his time as an assistant, but Robert Griffin III was the first. Lebby was an offensive assistant at Baylor from 2008-16, where his first season coincided with Griffin’s true freshman year.

Now getting set to enter his first season as a head coach at Mississippi State, Lebby recalled memories of watching Griffin grow into the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner. It all began during that true freshman season, when the quarterback made his college debut in the season opener against Wake Forest.

The Bears ended up losing that game 41-13, but even then Griffin flashed glimpses of the player he would become.

“Two things that stick out to me are one of his very first carries that he had his true freshman year against Wake Forest where he kind of toe-tapped on the sideline and made an incredible play and created an explosive play,”Lebby said. “That’s when it was like, ‘OK, this guy’s different.’ You knew at times in practice, but then you see him go play in a game and understand, ‘we’ve got something that’s gonna be a lot of fun to coach.’ Then I’d say the Texas game.”

Griffin finished his freshman season 160-of-267 (59.9%) passing with 2,091 yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for a career-best 843 yards and 13 touchdowns as defenses had not yet adjusted to his dual-threat ability.

Fast forward to his fourth season in Waco, and Griffin had become a bonafide star. He threw for a career-high 4,293 yards while completing 72.4% of his passes, while also rushing for 699 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Griffin became the only player in Baylor history to ever win the Heisman Trophy that season as Baylor went 10-3. The Heisman campaign culminated with a 48-24 victory against Texas that marked the second straight victory against the Longhorns.

Texas had previously won 12 straight games against Baylor before Griffin led the Bears to the back-to-back victories. He threw for 320 yards, two touchdowns and one interception during that contest while also rushing for two scores.

“Winning 30-10 and him winning the first Heisman in the history of the school is something that obviously stands out in a huge way,” Lebby said. “He had this great amount of confidence in the postgame saying I think they had just won their first Heisman. So from the very beginning of it to the end of it, class act. Ton of ability. He just found ways to inspire and make guys around him better every single day.”

Its those experiences that enable Lebby to believe he can spark something similar in a new quarterback. The Bulldogs have a former Baylor QB in Blake Shapen, and are set to begin their season on Aug. 31 against Western Kentucky.