Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III scheduled a news conference for Wednesday where he is expected to declare for the NFL draft.
A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that Griffin is bypassing his senior season at Baylor to turn pro. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because the quarterback had not yet made the official announcement.
Baylor said Griffin and coach Art Briles “will address gathered media concerning the quarterback’s future” during the afternoon news conference on the Waco campus.
Griffin’s announcement will come a month and a day after he became the first Baylor player to win college football’s highest individual honor. The Bears were finished at No. 13, their first ranking in the final poll of the season since 1986.
The deadline for underclassmen to formally declare and petition for early entry in the draft is Sunday.
Stanford’s Andrew Luck, the Heisman runner-up, and Griffin are likely to be the first two quarterbacks selected next April.
Griffin set or tied 54 school records while playing 41 games at Baylor over the past four seasons. The fourth-year junior has another season of eligibility remaining at Baylor because he got a medical redshirt after he tore the ACL in his right knee in the third game of the 2009 season.
The Bears tied a school record with 10 wins this season, including a six-game winning streak to end the year. They finished with a record-setting 67-56 victory over Washington in the Alamo Bowl, their first bowl victory since 1992.
Griffin is Baylor’s career passing leader. He completed 800 of 1,192 passes (67 percent) for 10,366 yards with 78 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. His 2,254 yards and 33 TDs rushing are records for a Bears quarterback.
He completed 291 of 402 passes (72 percent) for 4,293 yards and 37 TDs with only six interceptions this season, when he also ran for 699 yards and 10 more touchdowns. He was the nation’s second-most efficient passer with a 189.48 rating, just behind Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson, whose 191.78 rating came with 93 fewer pass attempts.
Griffin arrived at Waco as a 17-year-old freshman in January 2008 after graduating from high school a semester early. He completed an undergraduate degree in political science in December 2010 and has been working on master’s degree in communications.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.