Andrew Luck’s legacy continues to live on at Stanford

Andrew Luck’s NFL career ended abruptly with his sudden retirement, so let’s look back at where it all began for Luck with his time at Stanford.

The end always happens sooner than we see coming. That’s what happened with Andrew Luck who retired on Saturday night after fighting through a myriad of injuries for the last four years that sapped his love and joy for the game.

Few could have seen this coming. Not for the 29-year-old quarterback fresh off winning the Comeback Player of the Year in what may have been his best season as a pro. While many may criticize Luck for the timing or wonder about what he didn’t do in the NFL because his body and Colts management betrayed him, I’m not. this just the end of the NFL chapter for Luck and the beginning of his new chapter. In honor of that, let’s go back to the beginning of Luck’s career when many first watched him at Stanford.

Luck came to Stanford as a four-star recruit after playing for Stratford High School in Houston where he was the school’s valedictorian. Ranked as the No. 42 overall recruit, Luck was the No. 3 pro-style passer behind Dayne Crist (Notre Dame) and Blaine Gabbert (Missouri). He was also ranked behind dual-threat recruits, Terrelle Pryor (the No. 1 overall recruit, Ohio State) and E.J. Manuel (Florida State).

It didn’t take long for Luck to prove the recruiting rankings were well off, although it took a year into his college career after Luck humbly took a redshirt his first year on campus.

With Harbaugh thinking about starting Luck for the struggling Tavita Pritchard, Luck gave Harbaugh some perspective with the following account retold by The Daily’s upcoming book, “Rags to Roses: The Rise of Stanford Football,” by Joseph Beyda, George Chen and Sam Fisher.

"“Andrew, I’m thinking about starting you in this game,” Harbaugh remembers saying.“I would really be excited to do that,” Luck replied, “but I don’t feel like I beat anybody out. I don’t feel like I deserve it.”“Well, you really haven’t been in that position,” Harbaugh said. “The competition’s been between those other three [quarterbacks]. You’ve shown enough in practice. I think you’re ready and you’re the best thing for the team.”“I’d be excited and I’d do anything for the team,” Luck said, “but I don’t feel like I’ve earned the job.”"

Harbaugh decided to redshirt Luck but the wait was worth the wait for Harbaugh, Cardinal fans and the rest of college football who were soon about to be witnesses to something special.

Luck went 8-4 in his first year as the starter, the first freshman starter at Stanford since Chad Hutchinson in 1996. It included wins over rivals USC and Notre Dame and Oregon who was ranked in the top 10.

His performance in a loss at Arizona is the game I remember thinking he could be a generational talent. In a duel with Arizona quarterback Nick Foles, Luck threw for 423 yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-35 passing. Freshmen aren’t supposed to do the things he was doing. Upperclassmen weren’t supposed to do them either, and certainly not make it look so easy in the process.

“He’s the complete package.” — John Elway said of Luck during his sophomore season in 2010.

He threw 13 touchdowns to four interceptions his first year so it wasn’t like something Clemson freshman phenom Trevor Lawrence did last year, throwing 30 touchdowns and winning the national title.

Those numbers don’t tell the whole story.

His 2,929 yards of total offense, was the fifth-highest in program history and he led the Pac-10 in pass efficiency with a143.5 rating. That was important. It was big in context with the program and is in a conference known for prolific quarterback play.

You’d watch the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Luck and he had it.

He was a man playing against boys.

You knew he was going to be the next big thing.

Luck’s college teammate, wide receiver Doug Baldwin, who also retired this offseason, knew he was special right away.

“With Andrew you notice all of it because it’s just amazing,” Baldwin said, via the AP. “The things Andrew does, you just don’t usually see those. Guys know that. You look on highlight film of the NFL and you don’t see the things Andrew does at the college level.

Luck’s play, a combination of fearless running and surgical precision passes elicited comparisons to former Stanford and NFL Hall of Famer, John Elway.

“I’ve watched several of their games on TV, and from what I’ve seen, he’s got all the tools,” Elway said told SF Gate’s Tom FitzGerald in 2010. “It’s a big help to him having (Jim) Harbaugh as his coach because of his NFL experience, as well as having his dad (Oliver Luck, another former NFL quarterback). The sky’s the limit for him.”

“What I like the most about him is his mobility, something I look at closely. He’s got a great knack of moving around for his size. He’s the complete package.”

Luck didn’t have the arm strength to the degree that Elway had but Elway also never played with a team as talented or won as much as Luck.

The humble quarterback was the central figure in building Stanford into a consistent power player. He built on the success of Heisman runner-up Toby Gerhart, who helped begin the Stanford renaissance with Harbaugh. The foundation was laid his redshirt freshman year in 2009. The 2010 season was taking it to the next level.

“It’s Peyton Manning-like. He’s remarkable.” — Jim Harbaugh said of Luck after a 2010 win vs. Arizona.

He got off to a hot start with 11 touchdowns as No. 9 Stanford raced out to a 4-0 record ahead of their showdown with a national champion contender, No. 4 Oregon.

Luck threw for a season-best 341 yards vs. the Ducks with a pair of touchdowns. He also had a pair of interceptions as the Ducks cruised to a 52-31 win. It was a humbling loss for the Cardinal and Luck who saw how much ground they had to make up to be on the level of a national title contender.

The Ducks lost the National Championship to Cam Newton and Auburn that year. Stanford didn’t lose another game the rest of the year. Luck ran with the fearlessness and recklessness of a throwback tight end. Sean Cattouse still hasn’t recovered from this stiff arm from Luck on a 58-yard run.

And he should have won the Butkus Award for this tackle on USC’s Shareece Wright that was one of the first viral clips of the social media age of college football.

Stanford won their next eight games to close the season (17 overall) with Harbaugh likening him to one of his former NFL teammates and future Hall of Fame quarterback, Peyton Manning.

“It’s Peyton Manning-like,” said Harbaugh after Luck’s 293 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-17 win over Arizona. “He’s remarkable.”

“He’s the best football player I’ve been around, on the same team or coached. Harbaugh told the AP before the 2010 Heisman ceremony. And he’s equally one of the finest young men I’ve ever been around too.”

Luck completed greater than 70 percent of his passes in every game and had a 19:5 TD: INT ratio. The season culminated with a 40-12 win over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl to finish 12-1, the best season in Stanford football history. Luck won Orange Bowl MVP honors after completing 18-of-23 passes for 287 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in what may have been the best game of his college career.

Luck shattered program records, led the Pac-10 in almost every meaningful passing statistic and was projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft that saw Newton (who won the Heisman over Luck) go first to the Carolina Panthers.

Luck, who Stanford president Hennessy once called the quintessential Stanford student bypassed the NFL Draft and went back to school to finish his degree in architectural engineering.

“I am committed to earning my degree in architectural design from Stanford University and am on track to accomplish this at the completion of the spring quarter of 2012,” Luck said in a statement.

While Luck returned to the Farm, Harbaugh left for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and David Shaw was elevated from offensive coordinator to head coach. There was a seamless transition from Harbaugh to Shaw in part because of the stability Luck brought on top of the program-altering play he brought to the field.

Luck continued his assault on the Stanford record book as the Cardinal kept winning. Luck passed Elway for most career touchdown passes with 82, he broke his own single-season touchdown record with 37 and broke Steve Stenstrom’s career total offense record with career total offense with 10,387 yards. He won the Walter Camp and Maxwell Award but finished the runner-up for the Heisman for a second straight year, becoming the fourth player with that distinction. He was also the fourth to win the Pac-12 Offensive of the Year a second time, joining Elway, Charles White, Reggie Bush and Rueben Mayes.

His physical skills obvious to those who watched him play, Shaw raves about the mental side of the game where he’s never seen a quarterback like him.

“I studied quarterbacks for nine years in the NFL. Shaw said via ABC. I’ve never heard of a quarterback doing this [calling plays] in college. Never seen it. Never heard it. It’s a lot of words to comprehend. This is not statistics. This is a guy deciding what we do, and he does it better than anybody.”

Stanford finished that year 11-2 after falling to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. Luck set a number of program and Pac-12 records, but the most important ones were his contributions to winning in an unprecedented manner at Stanford.

Luck’s 31 wins as a starter as the most in program history. His 31-7 record gives him a .816 winning percentage, the highest in program history.

Stanford had three 10-win seasons in program history, the most recent coming in 1992, the others in 1940 and 1926 before Luck led the Cardinal to 12 wins in 2010.

Stanford’s best two-year stretch came on Luck’s watch when the Cardinal won 23 games from 2010-2011, shattering the previous record of 18, previously set in 1991-92.

Before Luck, Stanford was rarely in the AP Top 10, but with Luck, it was commonplace. Before Luck, Stanford was ranked in the top 10 for only three weeks. During Luck’s 2010-2011 run, Stanford was ranked in the top 10 for 24 weeks. He led them to back-to-back BCS bowl appearances.

No one won at Stanford like Luck won at Stanford.

Stanford has continued to win more than 10 games per season since Luck left the Farm. Shaw’s leadership is a big reason for that to be sure. So is Luck who helped build the program into what it is today with Shaw, Harbaugh, Gerhart and others. He paved the way for Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love to follow in his footsteps. It’s why top prep quarterbacks want to play for Stanford, they want to be the next Andrew Luck.

He will always be a part of the team. Literally. After a gift from an anonymous donor in 2012, the Stanford offensive coordinator position was renamed the Andrew Luck Director of Offense.

“It is a huge tribute,” said Luck. “I feel very fortunate to have come to Stanford, and I have always enjoyed representing the University. The offensive coordinators I’ve had here helped me not only in football, but also to grow so much as a person. To be a part of that leadership and position is a very proud legacy for me.”

Stanford is better for having Andrew Luck who is better for having Stanford.