HEISMAN TROPHY winner Robert Griffin III is headed to the NFL.
Griffin made it official yesterday, announcing that he would skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft after a record-breaking college career. The announcement came a month and a day after the quarterback became the first Baylor player to win college football's highest individual honor.
"It was a tough decision, I love the people at this university, love my coach for giving me a chance to be a quarterback," Griffin said.
Stanford's Andrew Luck, the Heisman runner-up, and Griffin are likely to be the first two quarterbacks selected in April.
In other college news:
* Georgia tight end Orson Charles is entering the NFL draft. He has yet to hire an agent but says there's no chance of a return for his senior year.
* The NCAA has broadened the definition of agents to include parents, closing the loophole that allowed 2010 Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton to keep playing despite his father's pay-for-play scheme. The Division I Amateurism Cabinet sponsored legislation that would include family members and other third parties who shop an athlete's services to schools for financial gain. The NCAA passed the proposal yesterday.
* Star Iowa running back Marcus Coker played the final five games of the regular season while police were investigating an allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman, authorities acknowledged. Weeks after authorities decided not to pursue the case, the 19-year-old sophomore was suspended. And this week, he abruptly left the program.
* Ryan Vogelsong and the San Francisco Giants agreed to a 2-year contract worth approximately $8.3 million. The 34-year-old righthander set a career high for wins while going 13-7 with a 2.71 ERA in 30 games, 28 starts. The deal includes a club option for 2014.
* Injured first baseman Kendrys Morales and the Los Angeles Angels agreed to a 1-year contract worth $2,975,000, avoiding salary arbitration. Morales hasn't played since breaking his left ankle while jumping on home plate to celebrate a game-ending grand slam May 29, 2010.
* Outfielder Scott Hairston finalized a 1-year, $1.1 million contract with the New York Mets.
* Temple safety Kevin Kroboth and offensive lineman Wayne Tribue have been selected to play in the Casino Del Sol All-Star Game, which will be played Jan. 16 in Tucson, Ariz.
* Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke was in critical condition, a day after she was airlifted from the mountains of Utah to a Salt Lake City hospital with injuries after a training accident in the superpipe. The nature of Burke's injuries has not been disclosed. In a statement released by Burke's publicist, a doctor at University of Utah hospital says Burke "sustained serious injuries and remains intubated and sedated in critical condition."
* PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem received a 4-year contract extension, which will keep him in charge of golf's most lucrative tour through 2016. Finchem, 64, also wanted to get through the most recent TV contract, an unprecedented 9-year deal with NBC Sports and CBS Sports.
* Sports talk show host Jim Rome is leaving ESPN for CBS' networks. He will host a half-hour weekday show on cable channel CBS Sports Network called "Rome" starting in April.
