Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck(left) laughs along side
DePauw head football coach Bill Lynch(right) during the Ubben Friday night.
Luck talked about balancing school work and athletics
as a student athelete at Stanford University.
SAM CARAVANA / THE DEPAUW
He’s gone to New York as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, he’s been on the cover of Sports Illustrated and he’s played in the NFL postseason, but on Friday night, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck brought his stardom to a much smaller Division III level.
Just four months after being on one of the game’s biggest stages at the AFC championship, Luck was on the stage at Kresge where he shared his views on his career in athletics as well as in education as a part of the Ubben Lecture Series.
Luck sat down with DePauw University football’s head coach, Bill Lynch, and addressed the student body and members of the Greencastle community on a variety of topics from his favorite books to his weekly routine.
“My favorite part of the conversation was the portion where he talked about the daily life of an NFL quarterback,” sophomore Michael McGrath said. “It was interesting how he thought nine in the morning was a late start. That really shows his true dedication to his craft.”
In addition, Luck also met with the entirety of DePauw’s football team before the event and held a question and answer session.
“I really enjoyed his talk to the student body,” sophomore Matt Hunt, who is DePauw’s starting quarterback, said. “I was in the second row and it felt like I was just listening to a conversation with him and coach. He seemed like a very personable guy and a real person not a celebrity.”
Luck began the conversation talking about his early life growing up in Europe where he was exposed to many different cultures and developed a love for sports.
The Luck family moved back to the states when Andrew was 10 and settled in the football-mad state of Texas. While the sport reigned supreme in the state, Luck stressed the importance of balancing football with his schoolwork while playing in high school.
“You weren’t necessarily allowed to sacrifice academics for sports,” Luck said. “You’re out there to do both to the best of your abilities.”
Being able to find balance in both areas came in handy when Luck came out of high school as a four-star recruit looking to land at a Division I school in a power conference. His drive for knowledge can be seen in the type schools Luck looked at before making his final choice. Luck was recruited heavily by schools like Rice University and Northwestern University before finally settling on Stanford University in the Pac-12 Conference.
While at Stanford, Luck was forced to balance the heavy workload that came from attending an institution with a history of producing great scholars, while also quarterbacking a team that routinely contended for national championships.
“I firmly believed that playing football helped with school,” Luck said. “Learning how to manage your time, learning how to schedule work, being active helped me study.”
Managing both also helped Luck prioritize and get things done.
“In sports you have serious negative consequences if you miss a deadline for something,” Luck said. “If you don’t deliver, you lose in a sense and I think that carries over into school…If you know how to prepare for a game, you use those same lessons preparing for a final project.”
Luck also offered opinions on the current conversations taking place about student athletes leaving college early in order to pursue their dreams of becoming professional athletes.
Luck was able to come at this with a unique perspective. After his sophomore season, Luck was eligible to declare for the 2011 NFL draft but decided to return to Stanford for one more season so he could fine tune his game and finish school in order to earn his degree.
“I think it’s different for every situation and I’m not quite sure what the balance is...” Luck said. “For me I thought it was very important. Looking back on it, I’m very glad that I finished my degree and graduated, it’s a mark of pride in a sense.”
With many in attendance wearing his number 12 Colts jersey, Luck also spent a good deal of time talking about his time in Indianapolis.
“Any time you get to see one of the best players in the game it's a great opportunity,” Hunt said. “Especially being a Colts fan that made it even better.”
After moving on from Stanford to the Colts, Luck drew immediate comparisons to the legend he was replacing, Peyton Manning.
Manning had been with the Colts organization ever since he was the team’s first overall draft pick in the 1998 draft. He brought the city of Indianapolis a Super Bowl in 2006 and got the Colts back to the championship game in 2009. Manning was named to more than 10 pro bowls during his time in Indianapolis and is still the team’s leader in passing yards and touchdowns.
All of this put together gave Luck some nerves as he stepped into the locker room for the first time.
“It was actually a lot easier than you would think,” Luck said. “The locker room was so supportive.”
All it took was a quick conversation with former Indianapolis defensive end Dwight Freeney on the first day to calm Luck’s nerves about stepping in and filling Manning’s shoes.
“...I walk over to his locker and this is Dwight Freeney, the most fearsome pass rusher arguably ever in the NFL. And he says, 'Look, we're all behind you. You do it your way, we're gonna go win football games, that's it and don't worry about anything else,’” Luck said. “You know, that was awesome to hear as my first day in the locker room and it put all those fears and doubts aside."
Luck did leave with football team with a few words of sound encouragement.
“Basic message was good luck with the Monon Bell,” Luck said.
To close out the event, Coach Lynch presented Luck with a DePauw sweatshirt, giving him something to wear when the teams get together next fall.