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Griffin's Repeat Feat Still Unmatched

The Associated Press

Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford answers questions for the media after being awarded the Heisman Trophy.

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 14, 2008

Archie Griffin remained in an exclusive club Saturday night.

Griffin, the former Ohio State running back and only two-time winner of the Heisman Trophy, still has that unique distinction. Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford won the 74th Heisman Trophy, while Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, seeking a matching bookend for his 2007 model, finished third.

For a while, Tebow was poised to make some college football history.

Only Griffin, who captured the Heisman in 1974 and 1975, could truly understand.

"Tim is a great one," said Griffin, now president of the Ohio State Alumni Association. "What a competitor. He shows great leadership ability and his team really rallies around him. They've had a lot of success since he has been around."

It sounds a lot like Griffin himself.

He's the only player to start four Rose Bowls. The Buckeyes were 40-5-1 during his tenure. Griffin rushed for 1,620 yards as a junior and captured the Heisman, winning in a landslide against second-place Anthony Davis of USC.

Then, after a 1,357-yard rushing campaign as a senior, Griffin did it again with another landslide win against second-place Chuck Muncie of California.

"It has meant a great deal," said Griffin, who rushed for 5,589 career yards at Ohio State. "I don't get called 'Archie Griffin' any more. It has been 'two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.' But that distinction has been an honor and it has given me the opportunity to do so much and meet so many people.

"I've often said I was in the right place at the right time with the right people. Woody Hayes always told us in a team situation, you're better than you think you are. I was involved in a very, very successful program. And I was the guy who was getting the ball all the time."

Griffin's Heisman experience was much different than Saturday night. He remembers being summoned to a news conference in New York - without much fanfare. There was no television coverage. But his awards have been treasured. One is being shown at an art museum in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and the other is displayed at a restaurant.

"More people see them there than in my house," Griffin said. "Winning one Heisman - let alone two - has changed my life and the life of my family.

"I've always felt I'd see somebody win two Heisman Trophies. Like they say, records are made to be broken."

But after Tebow's third-place finish on Saturday night, Griffin must wait a bit longer before he has some company.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353.

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