Just over a year after winning the Heisman Trophy, Robert Griffin III will take home some hardware in his first professional season, as well.
Griffin was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press on Saturday, capping an impressive debut campaign for the Redskins quarterback.
The Baylor product completed 65.6% of his passes for 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interception in 15 games while leading Washington to its first playoff berth since 2007.
RG3 was also at the forefront of this season’s emergence of running quarterbacks, leading all signal callers — and ranking 20th overall — with 815 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
The NFL’s 2012 rookie class boasted a bevy of offensive stars, making the race for the award a hotly contested one. Griffin edged fellow quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson — who both led their teams to the postseason — as well as fellow Redskin Alfred Morris, a seventh-round draft pick who ranked second behind Adrian Peterson with 1,613 rushing yards.
Griffin received 29 of the 50 votes, with Luck garnering 11 and Wilson placing third with 10.
On the defensive side, Luke Kuechly garnered Rookie of the Year honors after a dominant season as the leader of the Panthers’ linebacking corps. A three-time All-American at Boston College, Kuechly played in all 16 games for Carolina and led the NFL with 164 tackles in his first pro season.
Seattle’s Bobby Wagner placed second in the AP voting, receiving 11 votes.
Both awards were announced at the NFL Honors, which will air on CBS at 9 p.m. Saturday night.
