The football world received one of its bigger surprises of the New Year on Thursday when presumed No. 1 draft pick Andrew Luck decided to stay in school for his junior season rather than declare for April’s NFL draft.
Perhaps most caught off-guard by the news was the city of Charlotte, NC and fans of the Carolina Panthers.
Luck was considered a virtual lock for the No. 1 pick and drew high praise from ESPN commentators during and after the Orange Bowl game on Monday night.
Former NFL quarterback turned ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer said that Luck was “the best prospect [he'd] ever seen.” Jon Gruden praised Luck throughout the game with his customary “this guy” routine.
Beyond all the NFL talk, Luck will continue his stellar leadership of a suddenly formidable Stanford team in 2011. Some way-too-early publications have moved Stanford into the preseason Top Five for next season.
Stanford will lose most of its offensive line, but that’s about all it will have to replace. The defense is set to lose only one prominent starter—OLB Thomas Keiser—who declared for the draft on Thursday.
Obviously one other major piece to that puzzle could be on his way out as well. Head coach Jim Harbaugh is reportedly seeking a king’s ransom to coach the Miami Dolphins.
Harbaugh is reportedly set to receive somewhere between $7-8M from the Dolphins. Whether or not Thursday’s declaration from Luck will change Harbaugh’s mind remains to be seen.
One thing is crystal clear, however: If Harbaugh follows his quarterback’s lead and decides to forgo the NFL for now, the coach and the quarterback will likely be even hotter commodities next year at this time.
Chyler Leigh Julie Berry Lori Heuring Nicole Scherzinger Jill Arrington
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