Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is an American football executive and former professional quarterback who is the general manager of the Stanford Cardinal. He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. Considered one of the best draft prospects during his college football career with Stanford, Luck won the Maxwell, Walter Camp, and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm awards in 2011. He was selected by the Colts first overall in the 2012 NFL draft.
In his first year, Luck set the rookie records for most passing yards in a season and game while leading a team that went 2–14 the previous year to an 11–5 record and playoff berth. Luck led the Colts to consecutive division titles in his next two seasons. In the postseason, Luck oversaw the NFL's second-largest playoff comeback during the 2013 playoffs and helped the Colts reach the 2014 AFC Championship Game. He earned Pro Bowl honors during his first three years and led the league in passing touchdowns in 2014.
Over the next three seasons, Luck struggled with injuries that caused him to miss the entire 2017 season. He returned to form the following year by setting several career highs and bringing the Colts back to the playoffs. For his success, Luck was named Comeback Player of the Year and voted to a fourth Pro Bowl. However, citing the injuries he sustained, Luck retired ahead of the 2019 season. In 2024, he returned to Stanford as the Cardinal's general manager. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
Early life and family Luck was born on September 12, 1989, in Washington, D.C., to Kathy (née Wilson) and Oliver Luck, who was the commissioner of the XFL, former executive vice president for regulatory affairs at the NCAA, former quarterback (as well as athletic director) at West Virginia University, and a former NFL quarterback for the Houston Oilers. Luck was raised as a Catholic and was involved in his church's youth group.
Oliver Luck was general manager of two World League of American Football teams before becoming president of the league, so Andrew spent his early childhood in London, England and Frankfurt, Germany, where he attended Frankfurt International School. He is the oldest of four children, including sisters Mary Ellen and Emily and brother Addison. Mary Ellen is a Stanford graduate who played volleyball there, Emily also graduated from Stanford, and Addison attended Yale, where he played soccer. In London, Andrew attended The American School in London. As a result of his childhood in London, he is a fan of soccer. Although supporters of London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham have reached out to him believing he was a fellow fan, Luck said, "I try to support as many of the American fellows playing [in the Premier League] as possible." Luck said the Houston Dynamo was the "number one team in my heart" because his father was the club's founding president and general manager.
The Lucks returned to Texas when Oliver Luck was named CEO of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. In Houston, Andrew attended Stratford High School, where he threw for 7,139 yards and 53 touchdowns in his high school career, and rushed for another 2,085 yards. Luck was also co-valedictorian of his graduating class in 2008. Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Luck was listed as the No. 4 pro-style quarterback in the class of 2008. He played in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. A highly rated high school recruiting target, he chose Stanford over offers from Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Rice, and Virginia, after being recruited by Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh.
College career After accepting an athletic scholarship to attend Stanford University, Luck played for coaches Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw with the Cardinal from 2008 to 2011.
2009 season
After redshirting during his freshman year in 2008, he earned the starting quarterback job in 2009 over the returning starter, Tavita Pritchard, thereby becoming the first Stanford freshman to earn the starting quarterback job since Chad Hutchinson in 1996. In his first season, Luck led the Cardinal to victories over top-10 Oregon and USC teams and a berth in the 2009 Sun Bowl. Playing in a run-oriented offense featuring Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart, Luck threw for 2,575 yards. Luck had 2,929 yards of total offense, the fifth-highest total in Stanford history. He led the Pac-10 in pass efficiency rating with a rating of 143.5, and finished second in the Pac-10 in total offense.
Luck injured a finger on his throwing hand in the Cardinal's final regular season game against Notre Dame. He had surgery prior to the Sun Bowl and did not play in the game.
2010 season
In 2010, Luck emerged as one of the top players in the nation. Luck was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year and was unanimously selected to the All-Pac-10 First Team. Luck led Stanford to a 12–1 record, a #4 ranking in the final AP Poll, and a victory in the Orange Bowl. Luck was named the Orange Bowl MVP after throwing four touchdown passes in Stanford's 40–12 win over Virginia Tech. Luck led the Pac-10 in pass efficiency for the second straight year with a quarterback rating of 170.2. He also led the conference in total offense with 3,791 yards, in passing yards with 3,338 yards, and in touchdown passes with 32. Luck rushed for 453 yards, a record for Stanford quarterbacks, with three runs of over 50 yards. Luck's 32 touchdown passes are a new Stanford record, breaking the old record of 27 held by John Elway and Steve Stenstrom. Luck's 3,791 yards of total offense also are a school record, breaking the old record of 3,398 yards held by Stenstrom. Luck also set new Stanford single-season records for completion percentage (70.7%) and pass efficiency rating (170.2). He won the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week award for his performances against Arizona and California.
Luck finished the 2010 season with two years of college eligibility remaining. He was eligible to declare for the 2011 NFL draft, but announced on January 6, 2011, that he would remain at Stanford to complete his degree. He was viewed by many TV sportscasters and ESPN writers as the top pro quarterback prospect in college football. In December 2010, Sporting News projected Luck as the No. 1 selection in the 2011 NFL Draft, had he entered.
2011 season In 2011, Luck led Stanford to a record of 11–2, a berth in a BCS bowl, the 2012 Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State, and a #7 ranking in the final AP Poll. He won the Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. He was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy for the second consecutive year, becoming the fourth player to finish second in the Heisman voting twice. He was named a First Team All America (AFCA, Walter Camp, ESPN.com, Pro Football Weekly). He was the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, becoming only the fifth player to win that award twice (after John Elway, Charles White, Reggie Bush, and Rueben Mayes). He was named First Team All-Pac-12 for the second straight year. Luck set a new Stanford record for career touchdown passes with 82, breaking John Elway's record of 77. Luck also set a new school record for touchdown passes in a season with 37, breaking his own record of 32. Luck set another school record for career total offense with 10,387 yards, breaking Steve Stenstrom's mark of 9,825 yards. Luck became Stanford's all-time leader in wins by a starting quarterback, with 31 wins through the end of the regular season. Luck also became Stanford's all-time leader in winning percentage by a starting quarterback, with a winning percentage of .816 (31–7). Luck broke the Pac-12 records for career passing efficiency rating (162.8) and career completion percentage (67.0%). He also broke his own Pac-12 record for highest completion percentage in a season (71.3%). Luck was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Washington State. He earned the 2011 Academic All-America of the Year award.
Legacy
Stanford had never won more than 10 games in a season (three times, twice before WWII) until it won 12 with Luck as its quarterback in 2010. Its best 2-year win total had been 18 wins (four times, last in 1991–92); it won 23 with Luck in 2010–2011. When Luck arrived, Stanford had spent only three weeks in the AP top ten since 1971. It spent 24 weeks in the top ten in 2010 and 2011. Stanford earned its first-ever BCS bowl berth in 2010, and a second in 2011.
In 2012, an anonymous donor endowed a permanent chair for Stanford's offensive coordinator position to be known as the "Andrew Luck Director of Offense."
Luck was announced as a 2022 inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame on January 10. He was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.
Professional career Pre-draft In September 2010, before Luck's sophomore season, Sports Illustrated Tony Pauline considered him "the most NFL-ready of all the draft-eligible quarterback prospects." After a stellar sophomore year, Luck was widely projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft, but decided to return for his junior year. In May 2011, he was unanimously projected as the top prospect for the 2012 NFL draft. By midseason, Pauline described him as "the best quarterback since Peyton Manning" in 1998, while ESPN Mel Kiper Jr. went even further, calling Luck the best quarterback prospect since John Elway in 1983. Despite Robert Griffin III's impressive Heisman Trophy-winning season, Luck's status as the No. 1 draft prospect was never questioned.
Throughout the 2011 NFL season, some fans called for their teams to try to lose their remaining games (or "Suck for Luck") in order to improve their chances at the first pick in the draft. By midseason the Miami Dolphins were believed to be the "frontrunners" for the No. 1 pick and drew criticism from their former franchise quarterback Dan Marino. The Indianapolis Colts, who were without starting quarterback Peyton Manning, won the "Luck sweepstakes" with a 2–14 record.
Ending speculations on April 24, Colts general manager Ryan Grigson announced the team would take Luck as the first pick. The decision became official on draft day, April 26, 2012. Luck was the fourth Stanford quarterback to be selected first, after Bobby Garrett in 1954, Jim Plunkett in 1971, and Elway in 1983. Luck was also the second Stanford quarterback taken first by the Colts after Elway, although Elway did not play for the Colts.
2012 season
On July 19, 2012, Luck signed a four-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts worth $22 million. The deal made Luck the fourth starting quarterback for the Colts in the past two NFL seasons, following Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter, and Dan Orlovsky. In his debut, a preseason game against the St. Louis Rams, Luck's first pass was a 63-yard touchdown to running back Donald Brown. He also threw a touchdown pass to receiver Austin Collie. In his second preseason game, a 26–24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Luck played the first half and ran for one touchdown, with two interceptions.