With the departure of Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III to the NFL, Baylor quarterback Nick Florence had some huge shoes to fill this season. Luckily for Florence, he had already had experience stepping in for Griffin III in the past, so this was not something new.
Florence has helped ease the loss of Griffin III so far, racking up gaudy passing stats and leading Baylor to a 3-1 record. The senior quarterback has passed for 1,585 yards and 16 touchdowns, completing 63.7 percent of his passes along the way. Baylor currently leads the nation in passing with 416.5 yards per game.
Florence has come a long way since being recruited to Baylor as a three-star quarterback from South Garland High School in Texas. After an up-and-down freshman campaign that saw him start seven games due to injuries to Griffin III and Blake Szymanski, Florence saw limited time over the course of the next two seasons.
But now that the reins are his, Florence has taken full control of the explosive Baylor offensive attack. Although the Bears lost their last game to West Virginia, Florence threw for a ridiculous 581 yards and five scores.
Florence will look to continue his torrid start this Saturday against TCU. The Horned Frogs have allowed just 13.2 points per game, but they did give up 37 points last week to Iowa State.