NFL Draft 360 Andrew Luck
NFL Draft 360 could be a new feature coming to Rant Sports immediately following the 2012 NFL Draft with one 2013 NFL Draft prospect a day. For now, I wanted to post a rough draft of what NFL Draft 360 could offer by mentioning a few of the 2012 NFL Draft 360 Prospects. The NFL Draft 360 debut is a sample demonstration featuring Stanford phenom quarterback Andrew Luck.
Andrew Luck Quarterback Stanford #12 Junior Redshirt
2007 Summary Andrew Luck is a highly touted college recruit playing for Stratford high school in Houston, TX. Luck received offers from Alabama, Northwestern, Purdue, Rice, and Stanford before committing to Stanford. Andrew Luck’s dad is Oliver Luck. Oliver Luck is the athletic director at West Virginia.
Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh did a great job landing a blue chip quarterback recruit with Andrew Luck. Luck is making a transition from Texas to California. It would not surprise me if Harbaugh opted to redshirt Andrew Luck so he got accustomed to things at Stanford.
Landing Andrew Luck also helped real in offensive line recruits like Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro.
2008 Season Archive Andrew Luck was redshirted. Stanford finished the 2oou season 5-7. Luck was disappointed that he did not get to play. Luck will likely start next season. Head coach Jim Harbaugh, offensive coordinator David Shaw, and quarterback coach Pep Hamilton were all essential in focusing on developing Luck for the 2009 season.
2009 Season Intro Stanford’s offense has most of the pieces in place. Its just unclear who their quarterback will be. Whoever starts has blue chip rusher Toby Gerhart to hand the ball off to. Owen Marecic is one of the best blockers emerging at fullback. Stanford’s quarterback will also have some junior playmakers with experience in Doug Baldwin and Ryan Whalen. Chris Owusu will play slot receiver.
Stanford has great tight end depth. Senior Jim Dray is likely to start in 2009. Coby Fleener and Konrad Reuland are also expected to step up at tight end for Stanford.
Stanford has a promising run blocking offensive line that needs more experience pass blocking. This offensive line consists Jonathan Martin, Andrew Phillips, Chase Beeler, David DeCastro, and Chris Marinelli.
Jonathan Martin was the 60th ranked offensive tackle from Harvard Westlake High School. Martin is expected to be Stanford’s left tackle and Andrew Luck’s blindside at Stanford. Chris Marinelli will likely be Martin’s bookend right tackle as a senior.
Andrew Phillips and Chase Beeler are quite undersized as interior offensive lineman. Both Phillips and Beeler enter their junior redshirt seasons in 2009. David DeCastro was the top center recruit in 2008. After being redshirted DeCastro would move to right guard. This interior offensive line will excel in pass blocking, run blocking, or zone blocking.
Tavita Pritchard and Alex Loukas entered Stanford’s 2009 Spring game as the two quarterbacks likely to battle for the starting job. Andrew Luck really emerged after both Pritchard and Loukas struggled. Andrew Luck would end up winning Stanford’s starting job in 2009 and never looking back.
2009 Season Archive Andrew Luck’s first career start came against conference rival Washington State in a road contest. Luck went 11 for 23 with 193 passing yards, and 1 passing touchdown. Luck only completed 47.8 percent of his passes in his debut. Luck would keep the offense balanced in his first start. Andrew Luck threw 9 of his 11 completions to Chris Owusu, Ryan Whalen, or Coby Fleener. Overall, Luck did a great job evenly balancing the distribution of the football.
Owusu would had 86 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown on 3 receptions. Whalen had 4 receptions for 74 receiving yards. Fleener did a nice job moving the chains for Luck with 2 receptions for 20 receiving yards.
Running back Toby Gerhart made Andrew Luck’s job at quarterback extremely manageable. Gerhart managed to run for 121 rushing yards on the ground on 23 carries. Gerhart would also get 2 rushing touchdowns. Stanford’s offensive line did a flawless job run blocking for Gerhart. Stanford’s 3 tight ends and fullback Owen Marecic were also used as additional blockers for Gerhart. Luck would win his first career start 39 to 13.
Three weeks later Stanford would face a Washington Huskies team with quarterback Jake Locker and running back Chris Polk. Luck went 7 for 14 throwing for 103 passing yards. 103 passing yards turned out to be Luck’s career low for passing yards in a single game during his tenure at Stanford. Tight end Coby Fleener caught 3 of Luck’s 7 completions in the contest. Fleener had 57 receiving yards on the day. Luck would also obtain a rushing touchdown in the contest. Luck was able to evade the pocket and scramble despite poor pass blocking by Stanford right tackle Chris Marinelli.
Gerhart had 27 carries for 200 rushing yards on the ground with 1 rushing touchdown. Giving the ball to Toby Gerhart when Stanford had tons of run blockers, tight ends, and a blue chip fullback who could open lanes for Gerhart helped Luck out at quarterback.
The following week Stanford hosted UCLA. UCLA had a formidable defense. This defense consisted of 5 impact players. Brian Price, David Carter, Alteraun Verner, Akeem Ayers, and Rahim Moore were all on this UCLA Bruins defense.
Stanford’s offensive line, tight ends, and fullback Owen Marecic did a fantastic job pass blocking and run blocking in this contest. Gerhart would have 134 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. Stepfan Taylor did a great job as a rotational rusher.
Luck would go 14 for 20 with 198 passing yards completing 70 percent of his passes in a 24 to 16 win over UCLA. Luck threw 6 passes to Ryan Whalen. Whalen ended up getting 118 receiving yards in the contest. Chris Owusu, Toby Gerhart, and tight end Coby Fleener all caught at least 2 passes making Andrew Luck’s job easier as well. Stanford’
Stanford’s offense put up a great showing against Arizona. Stanford led 38 to 29 heading into the 4th. Arizona broke two big runs in the 4th quarter to get the 43 to 38 upset win. Arizona Sophomore redshirt quarterback Nick Foles went 40 for 51 completing 78.4 percent of his passes while throwind 3 touchdowns and no interceptions which was another reason the Wildcats won as well.
Stanford’s offense was phenomenal once again Toby Gerhart ran for 123 rushing yards on the ground with exceptional run blocking from the offensive line, tight ends, and fullback Owen Marecic.
Andrew Luck went 21 for 35 with 423 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 1 interceptions. Andrew Luck had no time to throw the football. Andrew Luck was getting lots of pressure coming his way from Arizona’s defense. Luck showed huge signs of maturity in this game by making the right decisions.
Good thing Luck’s playmakers stepped up. Everyone on Stanford’s offense got to contribute in this game because of Luck’s decision making. The main X factors were Chris Owusu who had 5 receptions for 116 receiving yards and Ryan Whalen who had 5 receptions for 91 receiving yards.
Andrew Luck’s November campaign to wrap up the season had the good, bad, and the ugly.
The Good
Stanfor hosted Oregon in November. Andrew Luck faced an Oregon secondary with TJ Ward at safety and Cliff Harris at cornerback. Luck went 12 for 20 with 251 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, and no interceptions. Andrew Luck flat out dominated Oregon’s defense.
Stanford’s array of blockers opened opportunities for Andrew Luck and Toby Gerhart. Gerhart would run for 223 rushing yards, and 3 rushing touchdowns on 38 carries. Gerhart was beginning to generate consideration for the Heisman Trophy.
Stanford would travel to USC the following week. USC’s defense constantly pressured Andrew Luck. Luck went 12 for 22 with 144 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, and no interceptions. Luck did a great job in just like in the Oregon contest of equally distributing the football to his teammates. In the Oregon game, Luck’s offensive line did a great job opening up scoring chances. In the USC game, Luck had to make quick decisive decisions when throwing the football.
The Bad
Stanford hosted California. Luck went 10 for 30 and Luck threw 0 touchdowns and 1 pick. Stanford would lose to California 34 to 28. Luck only completed 33.3 percent of his passes. This was hands down the worst game of Luck’s career.
The Ugly
Andrew Luck would manage to out duel Jimmy Clausen and Notre Dame in a 45 to 38 shootout. Unfortunately, Luck would not be able to play in the 2009 Brut Sun Bowl which resulted in a loss to Oklahoma due to a broken finger. Luck did a great job against Notre Dame. The broken finger injury before the Sun Bowl raised some questions.
2010 Season Intro Most of Luck’s cast is back. Pass blocker Derek Hall is now Stanford’s right tackle. Stanford will focus more on pass blocking. Stanford added Zach Ertz to replace Jim Dray. Marecic is back at fullback to help block for whoever gets the running back job on Stanford. Stanford will probably focus on passing more in 2010.
2010 Season Archive As a sophomore redshirt some believed Andrew Luck had the best chance to challenge Jake Locker for the #1 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft heading into the preseason.
Luck threw 10 passing touchdowns and no interceptions in Stanford’s first 3 games against Sacramento State, UCLA, and Wake Forest. Jake Locker went 4 for 20 against Nebraska on September 18th. Luck threw 10 touchdowns and no picks in his first three games after September 18th leapfrogging Jake Locker as the #1 overall prospect for the 2011 NFL Draft at the time.
Luck did struggle in 2 road games against Notre Dame and Oregon after those 3 games. Luck would throw 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in 2 road games against Notre Dame and Oregon. Luck would also fail to complete 70 percent of his passes in either game.
After that point, Andrew Luck was unstoppable the rest of the season. Luck would complete 70 percent of his passes in each of Stanford’s final 7 regular season games. Luck would throw 18 touchdowns and 3 interceptions over this 7 game span.
Only one team kept Luck from throwing a touchdown in a single game. That team was Arizona State. Luck helped Stanford drive downfield for a 4th quarter comeback despite throwing 0 touchdowns and 1 pick in the game showcasing the clutch intangible.
Andrew Luck would lead Stanford to an 11-1 record. Stanford’s only 2010 loss came to an Oregon team that played Auburn for the National Title. Andrew Luck finished 2nd in Heisman voting to Auburn quarterback Cam Newton.
Virginia Tech’s secondary gave Andrew Luck some fits in practice scrimmages. Virginia Tech’s secondary featured Rashad Carmichael, Eddie Whitley, and Jayron Hosley on secondary. Luck would go 18 for 23 with 287 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, and 1 interception. Luck completed over 70 percent of his passes in the 2011 Discover Orange Bowl as well.
2011 Season Preview Stanford lost 3 of their 5 starters on the offensive line, their fullback, 2 wide receivers, and Konrad Reuland at tight end. Jim Harbaugh left Stanford for the 49ers leaving offensive coordinator David Shaw to be head coach and quarterback coach Pep Hamilton to be offensive coordinator. Some questioned how these 2 would transition to these roles.
Some questioned Luck’s decision to return and thought he would have a Jake Locker type season. Andrew Luck entered the season as the heavy favorite to win the 2012 Heisman.
Luck’s game tape from 2011 looked worse than his 2010 tape down the stretch early. Luck only completed 65.4 percent of his passes against San Jose State. Luck would also throw a pick 6 to Duke the following week. It was too early in the season and you really could not make a case for anyone else being the #1 overall pick at this point because its 2 early to make premature changes after 2 weeks of college football.
Luck would help Stanford cruise to a 3-0 start through the month of September. Luck was living up to the hype so far.
Stanford would enter the midseason with a 6-0 record. #1 LSU, #2 Alabama, #3 Oklahoma, #4 Oklahoma State, #5 Boise State, #6 Wisconsin, #7 Clemson, and #8 Stanford were all without a loss ranked 1-8 in the top 25. Stanford had a top 5 ranked run defense and looked like a potential threat to an SEC power house.
Stanford would host a #25 ranked Washington team that was 5-1 on the year. This team was winning without quarterback Jake Locker. Luck showed great skills of a game manager. Stanford’s run blocking offensive line helped pave the way for Stepfan Taylor at running back.
Stanford’s win over Washington made the Cardinal 7-0 on the season. Stanford moved up from 8 to 6 after Texas Tech came back to defeat Oklahoma while Kirk Cousins chucked a hail mary to defeat Wisconsin. LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Boise State, and Clemson ranked ahead of Stanford in the top 5.
Andrew Luck and Stanford would travel to USC. Both Stanford and USC had the top 2 quarterbacks and left tackles in the entire country at the time. There was so much anticipation for this game. Luck threw a pick and it looked like Stanford would lose. Luck maintained his composure helping Stanford rally back for overtime. Stanford would win 56 to 48 in overtime.
Stanford’s win over USC made them one of 4 8-0 teams. The other 3 were LSU, Alabama, and Oklahoma State. Boise State was 7-0 rounding out the top 5. Luck looked like he would win the Heisman.
Stanford remained at 4 after defeating Oregon State to go to 9-0 on the year. Alabama lost to LSU 9 to 6 and was holding steady at 3rd. Oregon would knock off Stanford the following week. After that, Stanford had 2 games against California and Notre Dame. Robert Griffin III defeated Oklahoma in amazing fashion one week after Luck’s loss to Oregon which is what led to RGIII winning the Heisman.
Andrew Luck threw an interception at Stanford in each of his final 6 games as a junior redshirt including the Fiesta Bowl. Luck would throw 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions to wrap up the regular season.
Andrew Luck NFL Draft 360 Summary When I watch Andrew Luck on tape I can see a complete quarterback in the making. Luck has the arm, durability, and size to impress teams in terms of a physical skill set. Luck also has the mental aspects of his game mastered in a complex pro style offense. Luck has accuracy to make any throw. Luck can execute 3 step or 5 step drops while displaying pinpoint like mechanics on those 1, 3, and 5 step drops. Luck executes deep throws on 3 or 5 step drops in very effective fashion.
Luck has a win first attitude when it comes to what the team wants to do. Luck operated a run first offense to set up passing plays in 2 of his 3 seasons at Stanford in 2009 and 2011. Luck would also call audibles to signal his own plays at Stanford.
Luck can execute short and medium passes on 7 step drops. Andrew Luck is literally money on his short and medium passes when executing 3 and 5 step drops with footwork. Andrew Luck’s accuracy as a quarterback is deadly. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers, and Sam Bradford may be the NFL’s only current quarterbacks with better accuracy than Luck at this time period heading into the 2012 season. Rivers and Bradford will struggle until their teams offenses add better players. Peyton Manning may not recover in Denver. Drew Brees numbers may struggle without Sean Payton. The only quarterbacks who are guaranteed to have more success than Andrew Luck at this point are Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers given what these quarterbacks have to work with on offense.
Everyone raves about Luck being the complete quarterback. Luck is pretty close to complete at this stage. There is one significant weakness with Luck that I noticed that you can exploit which will lead to other potential flaws in his game . Luck struggles with deep throws on 7 step drops when you take away his tight ends down the middle. Luck can get overconfident in his abilities if he’s on a hot streak by chucking passes into tight coverage. You could capitalize off of this if you have the right defensive personnel.
Luck does not get enough time on a 7 step drop to properly adjust his mechanics when dropping back to make a pass. Sometimes when Stanford calls a 7 step drop and a team gets to him early by hurrying Luck. Luck will follow up with a 5 step drop. If you continue to pressure him you may get Luck to force a bad pass.
I use 6 different categories to evaluate a quarterback’s potential. Andrew Luck got a 95 out of 99 in all 6 of these categories. Luck did have great coaching and a great supporting cast at Stanford. This does not change the fact that Luck is a special quarterback prospect.
Prospect Grade 95-98 Like I stated above, I gave Luck a minimum 95 grade out of 99 in all 6 grades I used to evaluate Luck. Those categories are physical ability, durability, size, learning rate, intangibles, and production. Luck has a minimum grade of 95 based on his ability at Stanford and a maximum grade of 98 based on his long term potential. Luck is ready to step in and be one of the leagues top 10 quarterbacks.
Player Comparison Tom Brady+John Elway’s scrambling ability Luck’s the most complete quarterback prospect to come out of college since Peyton Manning. When Luck throws he makes short and intermediate throws like Tom Brady with precise ability. Luck also scrambles out of the pocket like former Stanford quarterback John Elway. Luck was able to make a tackle to force a fumble hosting USC in 2010 and even caught a one handed hosting UCLA in 2011.
How to Game Plan Against Andrew Luck? Luck can sell the play action with a deadly rushing attack. It seems like the Colts want to operate more of a run blocking offensive line that can pass block as well. Limiting the Colts rushing game and pressuring Luck until your defense makes a big play is the first step. Scoring early also helps if you have an offense that can run up the score.
The moment your defense makes a big play against Luck will be the moment that the could change the game. The earlier you make a big play against Luck, the more likely you are to exploit a weakness in his game. If you can force Luck to throw deep passes by playing press and man coverage with your linebackers playing zone coverage you give your defensive line more time to pressure Luck. Luck will switch to a 7 step drop if you keep doing this. That’s when you switch to zone coverage on secondary and try to capture the quarterback for a QB sack by bringing your pass rush.
Teams with middle linebackers will have more success against Luck because they will be able to use play recognition to pick up on what Luck is doing. Bruce Arians helped Ben Roethlisberger master the vertical aspect of the deep passing game. Arians could provide Luck with similar success in Indianapolis.
You need a mastermind head coach with former experience as a defensive coordinator, a strategic defensive coordinator, and a blue chip defensive player like a pass rusher, middle linebacker, or cornerback to stop Luck. Having all 5 of these elements could give Andrew Luck extreme difficulty.
Luck is one of the most complete quarterbacks to enter the NFL. That is why you will need the complete defense if you expect to beat Andrew Luck at his own game by forcing him to carry the team.
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