ASHBURN, Va. -- There was no mistaking Robert Griffin III at the NFL draft. His ends of his dreadlocks settled onto a baby blue jacket. His checkered-patterned shirt was offset and a purplish tie with horizontal stripes. And, of course, there were the socks. Burgundy and gold stripes, the colors of his new team, with the words "Go catch your dream."
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"Go catch that dream because a lot of times when you chase something you never get to it," Griffin said. "So if you say, `Hey, I'm going to go catch my dream,' you're already telling yourself that you're going to get it."
A dream was realized Thursday night when Griffin was selected No. 2 overall by the Washington Redskins, ending a month-long courtship aimed at ending a revolving door at quarterback that has hampered the franchise for two decades.
After getting the hugs and appearing on the stage with Commissioner Roger Goodell at Radio City Music Hall in New York, Griffin made the customary phone call to reporters in Washington. Asked how he felt to be drafted, he broke into song.
"Hail to the Redskins. Hail victory," he said, singing the first two lines to the team's fight song.
The Heisman Trophy winner from Baylor is the Redskins' highest pick since linebacker LaVar Arrington also went at No. 2 in 2000. Arrington made three Pro Bowls in six seasons in Washington.
Much, much more is expected from RGIII.
The Redskins have started 21 quarterbacks over the last 19 seasons. Rex Grossman and John Beck combined to put together a 5-11 record last year, Washington's fourth consecutive last-place finish in the NFC East. Coach Mike Shanahan won a pair of Super Bowls with John Elway and the Denver Broncos in the late 1990s, and he's pegged his plans for a turnaround in the nation's capital around the player who did the same for Baylor.
"You're always looking for that franchise guy," Shanahan said, "and that term is used without him proving himself yet -- we understand that. But he's got everything that you look for in a quarterback. Hopefully we can get the supporting cast around him and start playing very well."
