Robert Griffin III did more to improve his draft stock than any other prospect this year which is why he is the High Riser of the Year

Every year we see countless media outlets produce countless All-American teams and every year they all look roughly the same with one or two surprises. We have nothing against those lists and in fact enjoy reading and discussing those lists every year. We wanted to create our own All-American team but not really make so much about being an All-American.

The premise of this list is pretty simple, we are a draft site, we spend 12 months of the year watching college and pro football, analyzing needs, and projecting values in anticipation of April’s NFL Draft. So why can’t we tie to the two ideas together, in doing so please allow me to present to you the inaugural High Riser Team. This list unlike any other doesn’t just weigh how a player does on the field but rather also how much he’s able to raise his NFL stock.  We feel like this way of measuring players is objective, fun, and will give some players some recognition that they don’t get on your traditional All-American lists.

So without further ado here are our winners;

High Riser of the Year:

QB Robert Griffin III-Baylor-Junior

He won almost every other award so why not this one right? What RGIII was able to accomplish this season was rather incredible when you just look at his numbers, but when you add in how much he was able to improve his stock it becomes quite clear that this was a bigger run away than the Heisman was. We had Griffin as a mid-round pick barely inside the top 100 coming into this draft and currently will have him ranked #2 when our new rankings are released on January 16^th. Because this is the first year of the awards, all the award winners will get the added bonus of having this award named after them for all the years after this one.

High Rising Offensive Player of the Year:

RB Lamar Miller-Miami-RS Sophomore

Coming into this year we all knew about backs like Trent Richardson, Bernard Pierce, Cyrus Gray, and Dan Herron but few knew about Lamar Miller down in Miami. Then Miami traveled to Maryland and took on the Terps. The game was originally making headlines due to the Terps interesting new uniforms but by the end of the night Lamar Miller was the story having gone for 118 yards and a score. His speed, vision, and burst were torture for a Maryland D that looked slow and out of position. Miller would go on this season to gain over 1,200 yards and nine TD’s. Some will question this pick because he slowed down in the second half but right now we see Miller as a Top 15 pick which is saying something for a RS Sophomore.

High Rising Defensive Player of the Year:

DT Devon Still-Penn State-Senior

For the purists in football there is nothing better than sitting back on a Saturday afternoon and watching two big slobberknockers go at it in the trenches. Nobody was better in the trenches this year than Penn State DT Devon Still. Still’s violent hands and quickness off the ball has seen him sky rocket up draft boards this season. Coming into this season Still was 2^nd-3^rd Round pick but now he is being talked about in the top 10.

High Riser Teams:

Tags: 2012 NFL Draft, ACC, All American Teams, Baylor, Big 10, Big 12, Devon Still, IND, Lamar Miller, Miami, Pac 12, Penn State, Robert Griffin III, SEC

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