Andrew Luck Scores by Returning to Stanford to Finish Degree: Fan Take
The Indianapolis Colts' No. 1 draft pick Andrew Luck isn't participating in the current on-going organized team activity (OTA), giving an early indication as to what kind of quarterback and teammate Luck is going to be in Indy: a smart one.
Is Luck holding out for a monstrous contract? No. Is he throwing a tantrum and refusing to play for the Colts like another former Stanford quarterback did in 1983 after being selected No. 1 overall? No. Is he injured? No.
Luck is back in Palo Alto, Calif., right now, finishing up his degree in architectural design.
The final two courses that are required for him to complete his degree at Stanford weren't offered until the spring semester, which runs until June 7. In a great piece by Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports, Luck doesn't really want to be there right now--he'd rather be in Indianapolis with his team--but he's doing what needs to be done. And as a Colts fan, I couldn't be happier with his decision.
Sure, NFL rules prohibit him participating in OTA's until he's done with his coursework, but if earning his college degree wasn't important to him, Luck would have foregone his final year or two of eligibility and entered the NFL back before the new collective bargaining agreement brought rookie contracts back down to Earth.
Sure, missing a month or so of off-season preparation during his rookie year isn't ideal from a football standpoint, but when looking at the big picture of life, it's not that big of a deal, especially when the payout is a bachelor's degree from a top-notch institution like Stanford. With that, Luck is armed for a life outside of football, giving him a leg up on his NFL colleagues who left college without a degree.
The Colts coaches are keeping in contact with him while he wraps up his education, and by Silver's account, Luck already got off to a tremendous start as a member of the Colts at the three-day rookie minicamp earlier this month.
"I'm told he was calling out plays like he had the whole playbook memorized, and some of the other rookies were looking around like, 'What?'" Colts OT Mike Tepper told Silver. "Some of the guys, including the other QBs, were saying that Luck is already better than 25 of the [starting] quarterbacks in the league."
Missing a few weeks of camp four months before the season starts isn't going to permanently stunt his growth, nor will it set the team back. By the time Sept. 9 rolls around and Luck takes his first regular season snap in the NFL against the Chicago Bears, no one will remember--much less, care about--the time he is missing right now. But on June 7, he'll have something that lasts forever: a college education.
Like most NFL fans, I like my team's quarterback to make good decisions on the field. I also like him to make good decisions off the field. With Luck's decision to fight through the senioritis and finish up his degree before focusing all of his attention on the upcoming season, he's showing me that he's one smart and dedicated quarterback--one who's willing to stay until the job is done. One who realizes that life is more important than football. And one who realizes that football can take a back seat for a little bit while he sets himself up for success after his playing days are over.
Touchdown, Andrew Luck.
The author is a resident of central Indiana and a longtime fan of the Colts. He is also a Featured Contributor in Sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. You can follow him on Twitter at @RedZoneWriting and on Facebook.
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