Robert Griffin seems to always wear a smile on his face as Baylor’s practices get tougher and the 100-degree days pile up in endless succession.

It’s a smile of confidence. A smile created by a trust that everything’s going to work out fine.

Rod Aydelotte / Waco Tribune-Herald

Sophomore Robert Griffin tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a 68-13 win last year over Northwestern State.

As the Bears approach their Sept. 4 season opener against Sam Houston State, Griffin has the swagger of a quarterback ready to write his own comeback story.

Griffin’s repaired right knee is feeling good, and his arm is stronger than ever.

If anybody thought Griffin didn’t miss football in the months following last season’s anterior cruciate ligament surgery, they don’t know him very well.

“I definitely love the game more than ever,” Griffin said. “When you have something taken away, you really see how much you want it. I feel good and I’m ready to go. I’m going to play fearless like I always have.”

Throughout Baylor’s August workouts, Griffin has looked like a happy kid on a playground. Bulked up to 220 pounds, Griffin can easily hit receivers on deep routes with a flick of his wrist or pinpoint lasers in traffic. The gifted quarterback has always had a good arm, but now it’s better than ever after a lot of hours in the weight room.

Just the sight of Griffin winging passes around the field is an inspiration to his teammates.

“The way Robert went through rehab showed he’s a leader who will never give up,” Baylor receiver Kendall Wright said. “It’s exciting to have him back. I’ve felt a special connection with Robert ever since we’ve been here.”

Though no one knows how Griffin’s knee will hold up throughout the season, he’s looked mobile and elusive in workouts even while wearing a brace. That combination of speed and passing skills made him a freshman All-America quarterback in 2008.

Griffin drove defenses crazy as a freshman when he threw for 2,091 yards and 15 touchdowns and ran for 843 yards and 13 scores. Whether Baylor coach Art Briles will let Griffin run as freely this year remains to be seen, but it’s against his nature to hold anything back.

“I’m a confident guy, and I’m going to trust my knee in the heat of the moment,” Griffin said. “I realize I’m going to get hit. We’ll see how I can move around when a play breaks down. But I’m not going to worry about a 300-pound lineman running at me.”

When asked if he still has the gear that made him such a dangerous running threat two years ago, Griffin smiles, “The turbo’s still there.”

Nobody was smiling on the afternoon of Sept. 27 when tests showed that Griffin tore his ACL the previous night against Northwestern State. The news was shocking since Griffin thought he had hyperextended his knee after taking a first-quarter hit.

Griffin trotted back into the game and tore apart the Demons as he hit 13 of 19 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns. After the Bears opened up a 47-10 halftime lead, Griffin didn’t return to the game, and Baylor finished off a 68-13 win for its most points in 67 years.

In the days after the injury, excruciating pain kept shooting through his right knee.

“The initial feeling you have is ‘Will I ever be able to walk again?’ ” Griffin said. “You never get any relief at first. It’s good when you can start walking up stairs and it doesn’t hurt, and you don’t have to hop on one leg.”

After his knee began feeling better, Griffin debated whether he should have surgery. Before playing Oklahoma in Norman on Oct. 10, Griffin stepped on the field in warm-ups and threw a series of sharp passes to his teammates. He moved around so well that it looked like he might play that day.

“I was running and throwing the ball and feeling good,” Griffin said. “I gave serious thought to playing, but no one else did. Coach Briles didn’t want me to go out and play, and my dad didn’t want me to mess up my knee.”

Dr. Mark Adickes, a former Baylor offensive lineman, performed surgery on Griffin’s knee Oct. 13 in Houston. While his teammates moved deeper into Big 12 play, Griffin could only watch from the sidelines as freshman Nick Florence took over at quarterback.

Rod Aydelotte / Waco Tribune-Herald

Robert Griffin wants to help deliver Baylor's first bowl bid since the 1994 Alamo Bowl.

Though Florence performed admirably, the Bears often struggled offensively and finished 1-7 in the Big 12 and 4-8 overall. Meanwhile, Griffin began the grueling rehabilitation process to get his knee stronger, and spent a lot of long, lonely days away from most of his teammates.

“You come to college to play football, and it’s tough when you take away the team aspect,” Griffin said. “When you’re going through rehabilitation, you realize how special the camaraderie is on the team and how much you want to be around them.”

Griffin spent many days with senior defensive back Mikail Baker and freshman running back Glasco Martin, who were also rehabilitating ACL injuries. Baker tore his ACL against Northwestern State on the same night as Griffin.

“We were all in there rehabbing together,” Baker said. “It was a long process, but we helped each other through it. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

By the start of spring practice in March, Griffin’s knee was far enough along that he went through noncontact drills. Griffin said he felt strong enough to play in the spring game in April, but the Baylor coaches didn’t want to risk further injury.

Griffin continued to build his knee strength throughout the summer, and came into camp in great shape and ready to play. Briles wasn’t surprised how zealously Griffin attacked his rehabilitation because it’s the way he approaches everything.

“Robert did exactly what we thought he would do,” Briles said. “When you have something taken away, you respond two different ways. You pout, complain, sulk, cry and fall into a shell. Or you fight, grind and have vision and work harder than you’ve ever done in your life.

“You don’t become an elite athlete or an accomplished person without having something inside of you that makes you want to be better than anybody else,” Briles said. “And Robert has a competitive spirit that prevails and leads him in the right direction.”

With a healthy Griffin, the Bears should have a shot at reaching a bowl game for the first time since the 1994 Alamo Bowl. Baylor’s Big 12 schedule is more favorable this season with home dates against Kansas, Kansas State and Texas A&M and a road game at Colorado.

Griffin hasn’t heard as much bowl talk coming into this season, but it’s still one of the team’s biggest goals.

“Everyone said last year was going to be the year, but God had other plans,” Griffin said. “The buzz isn’t as high this year. But we’ll just try to let our playing be the focus.”

With Griffin back in the lineup, the Bears will be a stronger, more confident team. The Bears know athletes with Griffin’s gifts don’t come along very often.

“Robert brings that special element to the game,” Baylor offensive tackle Danny Watkins said. “He’s such a freak athlete. Having him back will be vital for us.”

jwerner@wacotrib.com

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