Big change of Luck; Andrew top draw now
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Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck speaks to reporters after he was selected as the first pick overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the NFL football draft.
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NEW YORK -- Thirty years ago, Oliver Luck sat in the same position as his son, Andrew, waiting to be drafted by an NFL team.
Well, nearly the same position. Oliver Luck wasn't the first overall selection, wasn't in New York City, nor did his selection garner the same attention as Andrew's did Thursday night.
"When I was drafted, it was the second year the draft was on television," Oliver Luck, now the athletic director at West Virginia, said.
"It was basically in a small meeting room. Now, it's like a Hollywood musical."
While Andrew walked across the stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York City to the deafening cheers of the crowd, Oliver Luck had a much more humble -- and quiet -- experience when he was drafted.
"My draft day involved hanging out with my West Virginia teammates in Morgantown waiting patiently It was pretty straightforward, a bunch of guys just sitting around. There was a local writer there checking in on things every once in a while," he said, laughing.
Oliver Luck was left hanging until the second round in 1982, when the Houston Oilers selected him with the 44th selection.
If waiting for a team to draft him was practically like waiting for the luck of the draw for Oliver, Andrew Luck was the draw of his draft, a strong-armed, athletic player who had been crowned the No. 1 overall selection for months.
"There isn't much drama," Oliver Luck said before the draft.
"It's less stressful, but there will still be plenty of stress that will come with him being a professional quarterback."
Part of that stress will come with who Andrew Luck is replacing -- the man who Luck has been compared to most, former Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning.
"Peyton was a phenomenal player. All you can do is come in and play as well as you can," Oliver Luck said.
It is advice that Oliver Luck has given to Andrew, but Luck added that he is not sure if he can give Andrew any pointers on how to be a quarterback.
"I'm not sure any of my experiences are of real value to Andrew because the league has changed so much," Oliver Luck said.
"You obviously have the bigger, faster, stronger thing. And, in my era, you got drafted and had to sit and wait five years and learn.
"Then, [Dan] Marino came out of Pittsburgh and blew that out of the water."
Luck will have the chance to start right away in his NFL career, as Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians previously has said that there "ain't no doubt" that Luck will take the reins of the offense.
Oliver Luck started in his second season, but his team struggled to a 2-14 record. If Andrew sees similar struggles in the beginning of his career, he will always have his father to talk to.
"He is not only a father," Andrew Luck said, "but also an encyclopedia."
First Published April 27, 2012 12:07 am
