2012 NFL Draft Scouting Report | Andrew Luck 

Player Name: Andrew Luck

Position: Quarterback

School: Stanford

Height: 6’4

Weight: 235

Drafted by the Indianapolis Colts

It seems that the state of Texas does nothing but produce quality NFL talent. The buck didn’t stop here with Andrew Luck, who came out of Stratford High School, and was the valedictorian of his senior class. Luck was the #47 overall recruit in the nation according to Scout.com, and the #4 quarterback overall. Stanford nabbed him for their 2008 recruiting class, and hasn’t looked back since.

Luck ended up redshirting in 2008 as he watched incumbent Tavita Pritchard disappoint for one last season. He took the reigns of the Cardinal over in 2009, and lead Stanford over a few upsets, most notably against #9 USC.

In 2010, Luck set the Stanford record for most touchdowns in a season with 32. He declined to enter the 2011 NFL Draft in hopes of bringing a championship to Stanford in 2011, as well as finishing his degree in architectural design. He’s already regarded as the top prospect for the 2012 NFL Draft.

Strengths

Perhaps the most NFL ready quarterback prospect of the last ten seasons, Andrew Luck brings a lot to the table. To start, Luck’s intangibles are fantastic. He is an excellent student, and is extremely intelligent, hence the architectural design major. His football IQ is great, and he has fantastic pocket awareness.

Luck is very tough, and resilient. He plays for a full four quarters, and doesn’t go down easily. He’s a threat to run if the pocket collapses and will make plays with his feet. Luck has good arm strength, and has benefited from playing in a pro-style offense at Stanford under Coach Jim Harbaugh (who left for San Francisco in 2011). His short-intermediate accuracy is very solid, and he puts great touch on his passes, understanding when he needs to zip the ball in a tight spot, or when to lead his defender in the back of the end zone.

Luck has a very quick throwing motion, which some have compared to Dan Marino, and he has very solid footwork, playing light footed, and standing tall in the pocket.

Weaknesses

There aren’t a ton of weaknesses regarding Andrew Luck. He’s still a young quarterback, as 2010 was just his redshirt sophomore season. He’ll need to refine his mechanics a bit, as he has an awkward wind up, sometimes dropping the ball lower than it needs to be on his body. Luck’s deep ball accuracy could use some work as he will struggle, at times, trying to lead a defender down the field. Sometimes his arm strength gets the best of him and he’ll put too much on a pass, overthrowing the defender.

I’d like to see Luck work on going through his reads a bit faster, as well as looking off defenders. Sometimes he’ll get caught staring at a receiver, and will fail to hit his second or third read. Sometimes Luck is a bit too eager to run out of the pocket, and doesn’t always avoid getting hit, which will be something that NFL coaches would like to see him fix.

Overall

Andrew Luck is a once in a decade prospect, not only as a quarterback, but for any position. His intangibles and physical tools combine to form a player in which has unlimited potential in the NFL. His “weaknesses” are very fixable, and many of them are things he’ll battle through as a young quarterback learning.

As of now, there is no reason for Andrew Luck not to be considered the top player in the 2012 NFL Draft. He has loads of potential, seems to be pro-ready, and has all of the intangibles that NFL coaches drool over. Some consider Luck to be the best quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning came out of Tennessee in 1998. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill, but I undoubtedly believe that Luck is as good as it gets.