Andrew Luck: Career retrospective

Born into an athletic family, Andrew Luck was destined for greatness. His dad, Oliver Luck, played quarterback for the Houston Oilers in the 1980s and became a business executive upon retiring from the game. Because of his dad’s post-playing career, the Luck family lived in London and Frankfurt during his childhood before settling in Houston. He became a four-star recruit at Stratford High School. Luck received offers from the likes of Stanford, Northwestern, and Virginia. At the end of his senior year, he committed to Stanford to play for Jim Harbaugh.

Luck redshirted his freshman year in 2008. He took over the offense the following year, throwing for 2,575 yards and 13 touchdowns. In his debut season as the starter, the Stanford Cardinal team went 8-5 and lost to Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl. Stanford’s star running back Toby Gerhart finished second in Heisman Voting that year.

Luck was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2010 and '11, respectively. During these two years, Luck led the Cardinal football team to a 23-3 record and a 1-1 bowl game record while passing for 6,855 passing yards and 69 touchdowns.

While Luck never won the Heisman, he won the prestigious Walter Camp Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and the Maxwell Award in 2011. After the 2011 season, Luck ended his legendary college career when he declared for the NFL Draft.

Andrew Luck was one of the best quarterback prospects ever. He broke numerous records at Stanford and the Pac-12 Conference while establishing a winning culture at the California college. He profoundly affected the Cardinal football team, turning their woes into wins.

Luck was the consensus No. 1 overall pick heading into the 2012 NFL Draft. He drew comparisons to Peyton Manning and fellow Stanford alum John Elway. He had it all: brains, a rocket for an arm, toughness, a football junkie, a gym rat, and to top it all off, he was likable and had a clean record off the field.

To the surprise of no one, Luck was drafted first overall by the Indianapolis Colts. It was official; they had the successor to Peyton Manning. The 2012 draft class also featured quarterbacks Robert Griffin III, Russel Wilson, Kirk Cousins, Ryan Tannehill, and Nick Foles.

There was no learning curve for Luck. With all eyes on him, he delivered. He passed for 23 touchdowns and 4,374 passing yards, an NFL record for rookie quarterbacks. The Colts went 11-5 and played hard for their head coach, Chuck Pagano, battling leukemia during the season. They lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card. All told, Luck made his first Pro Bowl and was the runner-up for Rookie of the Year, losing the honor to Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III.

Luck proved he was immune to the sophomore slump the following year. The quarterback prodigy passed for 3,822 yards and 23 touchdowns en route to his second Pro Bowl in as many professional seasons. The Colts went 11-5 and won the AFC South Division title. Luck was looking like the quarterback everyone thought he’d become.

The Colts played the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2013 Wild Card. Against a better team, the Colts were down 31-10. The game looked all but over. Then, Luck led a ferocious comeback as the Colts won, 45-44. Luck passed for 443 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions in one of the greatest playoff comebacks in NFL history.

Luck unleashed an aerial assault in 2014, launching 4,761 passing yards and a league-leading 40 touchdowns. The Colts went 11-5 again, thanks to their stacked offense with Luck at the lead. 

The Colts had a great outing in the 2014 playoffs. Luck and Co. beat the Cincinnati Bengals and Peyton Manning’s Broncos only to lose to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, which is infamous now because of the "Deflategate" scandal. This was the closest Luck ever got to a Super Bowl.

The 2015 season was supposed to be when Luck’s Colts put it all together. They were dubbed Super Bowl favorites by analysts and fans. Since they drastically improved every year in terms of playoff success, it felt like their year. Unfortunately, they didn’t live up to these great expectations. The season came crashing down when Luck had to miss nine games because of a lacerated kidney. The Colts fell to 8-8 without their star quarterback.

The Colts struggled in 2016. They went 8-8 on the year. Luck played solid despite the odds, often keeping his team in games. He launched 4,240 yards and 31 touchdowns. While Luck was putting the team on his back, the team itself was facing difficulty. Luck was sacked 174 times throughout his career, thanks to the Colts' offensive line. In addition, the Colts' organizational mismanagement and an aging roster made life difficult for Luck.

To the dismay of Colts fans, Luck missed the entire 2017 after a surgery on his throwing shoulder. After the fact, Luck rehabbed like it was his job in order to learn how to throw again. While Luck was doing everything he could to play for the Colts again, Jacoby Brissett proved to be a solid bridge quarterback as the Colts starter.

The Colts organization fired head coach Chuck Pagano after the 2017 season. They replaced him with Frank Reich, a former NFL quarterback and the offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl champion 2017 Philadelphia Eagles. The offensive mastermind built a system tailored to Luck’s skills. The results were positive right away.

When Luck was down and out, and everyone thought he was washed up, he proved the critics wrong and had one of his best seasons as a pro. He proved he still had it, launching 4,593 passing yards and 39 touchdowns in 2018. The Colts went 10-6 and lost to the Chiefs in the Divisional Round. When it was all said and done, Luck won the Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Luck retired from football during a preseason matchup before the 2019 season. The NFL world didn’t see this one coming. At just 29, Luck was in the prime of his career. Luck was booed on his way off the field for the last time. This was a classless move by the Colts fans, who failed to realize how much Luck had to sacrifice to suit up for the team after so many injuries.

The Colts have had a quarterback carousel ever since Luck retired. In the years that followed, they tried out Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, and Matt Ryan. The Colts have become a top-tier destination for aging quarterbacks looking to play for a good team on paper. 

In recent news, the Colts fired Frank Reich, Luck’s last coach, halfway through the 2022 season.

Even though his NFL career was short, Andrew Luck made a big impact away from it. He appeared in an episode of Parks and Rec as himself alongside his Colts teammates. Since retiring from the NFL, Luck has enrolled in Stanford, pursuing a Master of Arts in Education.

Luck was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022. The Stanford legend was the leader for some of the best years in the program's history. 

What could've been? Luck had a short but memorable career. When you retire in the prime of your career, people will wonder how great you could’ve been. His retirement is similar to Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders, who also retired too soon. The 2019 Colts were built for a Super Bowl run. We will never know what Luck could have accomplished with that team. And there is nothing wrong with that. Luck left the game to keep his health.