The TRAGIC Story of Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck in his first three seasons in this league took an Unholy amount of punishment I've never seen things quite like the punishment he took literally every game there was a hit that he would take that would make you think oh this guy's got to be in pain and the only way I see out is to no longer play football it's taken my joy of this game away and so rosarians has coached some of the most dominant quarterbacks to ever lace him up and Tom Brady Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger and yet Aryans believes none of these guys could even touch Andrew Luck's greatness number one really best quarterback you ever coach I only had him as a rookie but he was unbelievable but opinions like these will forever keep Colt fans up at night cause luck never had the chance to reach his full potential this is the tragic story of Andrew Luck's career as the son of former NFL quarterback Oliver Locke Andrew dealt with sky-high expectations before he was even old enough to start preschool he spent his early years overseas as his father was the general manager of two NFL Europe teams before becoming the league president and that's where Jack Elway who was John Elway's father and Stanford football's old head coach made a bold declaration he watched as a three-year-old Andrew played with a football before declaring he might be a player joking or not it was Luck's first football evaluation and a sign of big things to come but the Lux didn't return to the U. S until Oliver took a job in Houston and Andrew was now 10 or 11 years old and thanks to Andrew's good genes and having grown up around the sport it didn't take long for Jack Elway to look like a Prophet by the time luck was a sophomore in high school he had become the starting quarterback that year on the Gridiron luck showed off his unique combination of strength and athleticism by throwing for over 1500 yards and rushing for 700 more as he continued to grow into his body luck also evolved as a leader breaking High School football Norms he was named team captain as just a Junior a testament to him being mature Beyond his years and with the added pressure from being the face of the team luck Rose to the occasion by throwing for just under 3 000 yards and 27 touchdowns while adding 714 yards on the ground that season was his National coming out party as he was named to the rivals. com All-American team for juniors top recruiting Services rival ESPN and Scout all had him ranked as a top seven quarterback in the nation luck was as well-rounded of a recruit as they come his high school coach said Andrew is the Ultimate Team player he has lots of talent but shies away from taking the credit he's a very humble person who always puts team before anything else not only did luck shine on the field but he also excelled off of it luck had a perfect GPA and finished off as the co-valedictorian of his graduating class colleges across the country were desperate to get his attention but luck wasn't focused on the same thing as most top recruits it wasn't about who was the biggest Powerhouse program or who had the best chance of getting him into the NFL instead he prioritized choosing a school that had strong academic so with that in mind lock narrowed down his list to schools like Stanford Northwestern Purdue rice and Virginia and the summer going into a senior year he committed to Stanford as then Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh put it Andrew embodies the balance and Excellence of the Stanford scholar athlete but being a quarterback headed to a power five School luck now had all eyes on him as opposing teams were determined to knock him down a notch nonetheless he capped off his high school career by throwing for over 2 500 yards and rushing for 671 in three seasons luck finished with 7139 passing yards 53 passing touchdowns and 2085 rushing yards when he arrived in Palo Alto he was full of confidence and ready to turn around a struggling Stanford program except his new coaches weren't sold on him just yet in his freshman year luck was forced to watch from the sidelines as he was redshirted and for someone who has always been hailed as The Golden Child it was the first time Luck's life wasn't Picture Perfect this motivated him to go that much harder in practice and during the ensuing offseason when when luck returned to campus for his redshirt freshman year the coaches had no choice but to do something they hadn't done in nearly 15 years as just a freshman they named him the starter he took over a team that was coming off seven consecutive losing seasons and during that stretch had a 25 and 55 record so he shocked Everyone by going out and leading Stanford to an 8-5 record as he racked up 2929 yards of total offense the fifth most in program history the next season he and his team built off this momentum finishing at number four in the nation with a 12-1 record and an Orange Bowl victory luck broke John Elway's Old School record for most touchdown passes in a season with 32 and set another for most yards of total offense with 3791.

in the process he was named pac-10 offensive player of the year and finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy he still had two years of Eligibility left but luck had already done enough to be a top draft pick in the 2011 NFL draft if he wanted however he did The Unthinkable by deciding to put the NFL and millions of dollars on hold to complete his degree ahead of his Redshirt Junior campaign luck was projected to be the number one pick in the next draft so in other words he had a Target on his back despite getting everybody's Best Shot luck was still named Pac-12 offensive player of the year and finished as the runner-up for the Heisman again becoming just the fourth player ever to finish Second Twice he set a School record for career total offense with 10 387 yards and broke another of John Elway's records with 82 career touchdown passes luck completely turned the Stanford program around as he became its all-time leader in total wins and win percentage and with his degree now in hand there was officially nothing left for luck to accomplish so he declared for the 2012 draft heading into the draft luck was universally viewed as the unquestioned top prospect he had the ideal size at six foot four 234 pounds to go with superb athletic traits that allowed him to run a 467 40-yard dash and have a 36-inch vertical combine those measurables with boys leadership skills and his winning nature and you get someone who seems like they were made in a test tube Scouts and experts even went as far as labeling him the best quarterback prospect they had ever seen on the same level as Peyton Manning or John Elway been doing this since 1979 is the highest rated quarterback since John Elway in 1983. fans wanted him so badly that during the prior NFL season they rooted for their team to lose and wanted them to suck for luck he was such an elite prospect that after a 2-14 season the Colts decided to move on from their franchise icon Peyton Manning who missed the previous season due to a neck injury and I never viewed it as replacing paint honest because there's an opportunity to play quarterback in the NFL you know it just so happens you know in the grace of all time was here before me and drafted Andrew luck with the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft the Indianapolis Colts select Andrew Luck and from the moment they drafted him the cult saw luck as their new starting quarterback and the face of the franchise No rookie in recent memory faced higher expectations To Shine from day one than he did and this played into people jumping on luck after the Colts start of the season two and three and to make matters worse he had thrown just as many interceptions as touchdowns with seven of each following an embarrassing week 5 35-9 loss to the Jets where luck only completed half of his passes to go with zero touchdowns and two interceptions the overrated chatter started to get much louder with that noise and indy season on the verge of falling apart luck knew he was rapidly approaching Do or Die time so he went out and led his team to four straight wins while only throwing two interceptions the game seemed to slow down for him as luck was finally starting to look like himself again he had total control of his offense and no moment was too big for him no better example encapsulates this than in week 13 against the Lions when the Colts trailed by 12 with just over two and a half minutes left after luck threw a touchdown and the Colts got the ball back he drove them down the field again before facing a fourth down from the Detroit 14-yard line with four seconds remaining [Applause] a little slip Donny Avery he's in touchdown with the game on the line and the Colts battling for a playoff spot luck calmly stepped up and threw the game-winning touchdown As Time expired Not only was it a massive win for Indy but it also gave luck his eighth win of the Season which set a record for a rookie quarterback drafted first overall and it was his fifth game-winning Drve which tied the rookie quarterback record luck started all 16 games that season as he led the Colts to an 11-5 record and a playoff bird even though they fell to the Ravens in the Wild Card round it was insane that Luck's arrival resulted in a nine win turnaround from the prior season and in the process he broke the league record for most passing yards by a rookie with 4 374 and was named to the Pro Bowl it was an extremely exciting start to Luck's career but there was still room for growth as he struggled with turnovers his 18 interceptions was only one off the league High going into the 2013 season this served as motivation and a point of emphasis for luck he had never had a turn over problem before in college and wanted to prove that this was nothing more than a flute luck season got off to an ideal start as he led the Colts to three wins in four games with only two interceptions this also gave him a 14-6 record as a starter which tied John Elway for best record through 20 games as the number one pick quarterback luck kept the Good Times Rolling leading the Colts to another 11-5 record and a playoff berth Not only was it a successful regular season for the team but also for luck personally he achieved his mission by raising his completion percentage by six percent and cutting his interceptions in half luck also set an NFL record for most passing yards in his first two seasons with 8196 then in Indy's Wild Card matchup with the Chiefs luck showed that anything was possible with him under center after the Colts fell behind by 28 points he orchestrated the second biggest comeback in NFL playoff history and largest to end in regulation all thanks to his 433 passing yards and four touchdowns despite losing in the next round Luck's iconic performance against the Chiefs cemented his place as one of the next faces of the league out of the gun again he will give it Brown down and fights his way now balls loose lock picks it out it loves time the 2014 season provided more of the same from him as he led Indy to its third straight 11-5 record and playoff appearance on his way to making his third consecutive pro ball luck managed to elevate his game to another level throwing for 4 761 yards which was the third most in the league and a league High 40 touchdowns this broke Peyton Manning's franchise record for single season passing yards and made luck just the eighth player in NFL history to throw for 40 or more touchdowns in a season in the postseason luck led the Colts all the way to the AFC championship before falling to the Patriots in the infamous deflate game I know my play was was not up to par for where it needs to be for to give you a chance to to beat a Quality quality team like them and it's a great atmosphere it's a fun place to play but they certainly had our number tonight at this point in his career luck looked superhuman and the sky was the limit for there seemed to be no way he wouldn't go on to win multiple Super Bowls and become a hall Hall of Famer but while luck continued to progress with each season the same couldn't be said for those around him specifically the players who were supposed to be protecting him in his first three seasons luck was sacked 130 times and took countless hits taking consistent beatings is the last thing any team should want for its developing Star Quarterback there's always so many QBs that you could put your hands on them and he's still looking down the field these numbers should have led to Sirens going off in the Colts front office and yet Indy didn't use a first round pick on an offensive lineman in any of the three drafts following lucks and only drafted one in the second round and that second rounder was Jack muhort who was out of the league after his rookie contract in fact they even traded away their 2014 first round pick for Trent Richardson who went on to be one of the biggest busts in league history not only did the Colts ignore this glaring issue but they also pretty much whiffed on the majority of their draft picks during this stretch the writing was on the wall for an incoming disaster but nobody seemed to notice it they were too distracted by luck carrying his team to the playoffs year after year until the 2015 season changed everything after a 1-2 start luck was forced to miss two games for the first time in his career due to an injured right shoulder he returned in week six but Indy's problems were far from Saul despite luck coming back the Colts only won one of their next four games and following their week 9 matchup with the Broncos disaster struck two days after the game it was announced that luck had suffered a lacerated kidney and partially torn abdominal muscle the injuries kept him out for the remainder of the season and without their savior under Center the Colts failed to make the playoffs if they weren't already aware this showed Indy just how much luck meant to their success so in that off season they signed him to a six-year 140 million dollar extension with 87 million guaranteed the deal made lock the highest-paid player in the league although it was highly deserved it created a salary cap issue that would prevent the Colts from finding him much needed help in free agency while luck entered the 2016 season motivated to prove he was worth every penny of his new deal he was a lamb to the slaughter in 15 games that year he was sacked 41 times just one off the league high and this lack of protection even led him to suffering the first concussion of his pro career after the season luck underwent surgery to repair an issue with his throwing shoulder that had been bothering him since 2015.