Colts will Take Luck in NFL Draft
Place Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning side by side and, aside from a slight age difference, you may think that you’re looking at the same quarterback story. Archie Manning, Peyton’s father, played in the NHL from 1971 — 1984, ending his career with the Minnesota Vikings. Oliver Luck, Andrew’s father, played for the Houston Oilers for four years. Although Peyton and Andrew played for different schools in college, both extended their college stay by one year; and both were nominated for a Heisman trophy, but did not win. Now, it looks as though they’re going to have one more thing in common: playing quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.
Although the Colts haven’t officially announced what they’re going to do in the draft this week, it’s widely believed that they’re going to take Andrew Luck, one of the best quarterbacks in the NCAA last year. ESPN is reporting that a league source has confirmed that Luck will be chosen by the Colts, and that the team has known for some time that Luck was going to be the choice. The owner of the team, Jim Irsay, has never been shy in saying how much the teams wants to have Luck playing for them, and general manager, Ryan Grigson, also confirmed that the team has an action plan, although he wouldn’t say who that included picking. “We’ve known for a little while,” said Grigson. “Unless there’s an unforeseen problem or something like that, we know what we’re doing.”
Grigson wasn’t the only one keeping mum on the situation. Luck’s agent, Will Wilson, also wouldn’t comment on any decision that’s been made, and Andrew’s father, Oliver, also said that he would like to “stay out of all that,” preferring to “keep my conversations with Andrew private.”
The Colts have kept everyone guessing, sending far more scouts to check out Griffin on his pro day than they sent to Luck’s pro day. However, they haven’t exactly been ignoring Luck either. Luck has traveled to Indianapolis for both a personal workout and a personal interview, while Griffin has done neither. Now, it’s almost all but certain that Luck will be playing for the Colts.
This will be the first time the Colts have had the Number One choice in the draft in 14 years, and there’s no doubt the decision has weighed heavily on them. Robert Griffin III, the other star quarterback in the NCAA last year and the winner of the Heisman Trophy, is thought will be picked by the Washington Redskins, who have the second choice in the draft.
Categorized in: NFL