Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck ( born September 12 , 1989 ) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for Stanford University , won the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award as college football ' s player of the year , and was recognized as an All - American . He was the runner - up for the Heisman Trophy in both 2010 and 2011 . He was named the Offensive Player of the Year in the Pac - 12 ( Pac - 10 ) Conference in both 2010 and 2011 . CBS Sports draft analyst Rob Rang called Luck the best prospect he has ever scouted , while the " Kansas City Star " put him in line with LeBron James and Bryce Harper as " the most hyped amateurs in recent sports memory " . Although widely projected as the No . 1 selection in the 2011 NFL Draft , Luck decided to return to Stanford for his redshirt senior season . A year later , he was selected first overall in the 2012 NFL Draft . Early life . Luck was born in Washington , D . C . , the son of Oliver Luck , current athletic director and a former quarterback at West Virginia University and former NFL quarterback for the Houston Oilers , and Kathy ( née Wilson ) Luck . Oliver Luck was general manager of two World League of American Football teams prior to becoming president of the league so that Andrew spent his early childhood in London , England and Frankfurt , Germany , where he attended Frankfurt International School . He is the oldest of four children , Mary Ellen , Emily , and Addison , who currently reside in Morgantown , West Virginia . In London , he attended The American School in London . As a result of his childhood in London he is a fan of Premier League soccer club Arsenal . The Lucks returned to Texas when Oliver Luck was named CEO of the Harris County - Houston Sports Authority . In Houston , Andrew attended Stratford High School , where he threw for 7 , 139 yards and 53 touchdowns in his high school career , and rushed for another 2 , 085 yards . Luck was also co - valedictorian of his graduating class in 2008 . Regarded as a four - star recruit by " Rivals . com " , Luck was listed as the No . 4 pro - style quarterback in the class of 2008 . A highly - rated high school recruiting target , he chose Stanford over offers from Northwestern , Oklahoma State , Purdue , Rice , and Virginia , after being recruited by Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh . College career . 2009 season . After redshirting during his freshman year in 2008 , he earned the starting quarterback job in 2009 over the returning starter , Tavita Pritchard , thereby becoming the first Stanford freshman to earn the starting quarterback job since Chad Hutchinson in 1996 . In his first season , Luck led the Cardinal to victories over top ten Oregon and USC teams and a berth in the 2009 Sun Bowl . Playing in a run - oriented offense featuring Heisman Trophy runner - up Toby Gerhart , Luck threw for 2 , 575 yards . Luck had 2 , 929 yards of total offense , the fifth highest total in Stanford history . He led the Pac - 10 in pass efficiency rating with a rating of 143 . 5 , and finished second in the Pac - 10 in total offense . Luck injured a finger on his throwing hand in the Cardinal ' s final regular season game against Notre Dame . He had surgery prior to the Sun Bowl and did not play in the game . 2010 season . In 2010 , Luck emerged as one of the top players in the nation . Luck was named the Pac - 10 Offensive Player of the Year and was unanimously selected to the All Pac - 10 First Team . Luck led Stanford to a 12 – 1 record , a # 4 ranking in the final AP Poll , and a victory in the Orange Bowl . Luck was named the Orange Bowl MVP after throwing 4 TD passes in Stanford ' s 40 – 12 win over Virginia Tech . Luck led the Pac - 10 in pass efficiency for the second straight year with a quarterback rating of 170 . 2 . He also led the conference in total offense with 3 , 791 yards , in passing yards with 3 , 338 yards , and in touchdown passes with 32 . Luck rushed for 453 yards , a record for Stanford quarterbacks , with three runs of over 50 yards . Luck ' s 32 touchdown passes are a new Stanford record , breaking the old record of 27 held by John Elway and Steve Stenstrom . Luck ' s 3 , 791 yards of total offense also are a school record , breaking the old record of 3 , 398 yards held by Stenstrom . Luck also set new Stanford single season records for completion percentage ( 70 . 7 % ) and pass efficiency rating ( 170 . 2 ) . He won the Pac - 10 Offensive Player of the Week award for his performances against Arizona and California . Luck finished the 2010 season with two years of college eligibility remaining . He was eligible to declare for the 2011 NFL Draft , but announced on January 6 , 2011 that he would remain at Stanford to complete his degree . He was viewed by many TV sportscasters and ESPN writers as the top pro quarterback prospect in college football . In December 2010 , " Sporting News " projected Luck as the No . 1 selection in the 2011 NFL Draft , had he entered . 2011 season . In 2011 , Luck led Stanford to a record of 11 – 2 , a berth in a BCS bowl ( the Fiesta Bowl ) , and a # 7 ranking in the final AP Poll . He won the Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award . He was the runner - up for the Heisman Trophy for the second consecutive year , becoming the fourth player to finish second in the Heisman voting twice . He was named a First Team All America ( AFCA , Walter Camp , ESPN . com , Pro Football Weekly ) . He was the Pac - 12 Offensive Player of the Year , becoming only the fifth player to win that award twice ( after John Elway , Charles White , Reggie Bush , and Rueben Mayes ) . He was named First Team All Pac - 12 for the second straight year . Luck set a new Stanford record for career touchdown passes with 82 , breaking John Elway ' s record of 77 . Luck also set a new school record for touchdown passes in a season with 37 , breaking his own record of 32 . Luck set another school record for career total offense with 10 , 387 yards , breaking Steve Stenstrom ' s mark of 9 , 825 yards . Luck became Stanford ' s all - time leader in wins by a starting quarterback , with 31 wins through the end of the regular season . Luck also became Stanford ' s all - time leader in winning percentage by a starting quarterback , with a winning percentage of . 816 ( 31 – 7 ) . Luck broke the Pac - 12 records for career passing efficiency rating ( 162 . 8 ) and career completion percentage ( 67 . 0 % ) . He also broke his own Pac - 12 record for highest completion percentage in a season ( 71 . 3 % ) . Luck was named Pac - 12 Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Washington State . He earned the 2011 Academic All - America of the Year award . Awards and honors . 2011 season Pepsi Max Rookie Of the week : Week 3 Week 5 2011 season 2010 season 2009 season Records . Pac - 12 single season records Pac - 12 career records Stanford single season records Stanford career records Professional career . 2012 NFL Draft . In September 2010 , prior to Luck ' s sophomore season , " Sports Illustrated " ′ s Tony Pauline considered him to be " the most NFL - ready of all the draft - eligible quarterback prospects . " After a stellar sophomore year , Luck was widely projected to be the No . 1 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft , but decided to return for his junior season . Right after the 2011 draft , in May 2011 , he was unanimously projected as the top prospect for the 2012 NFL Draft . By midseason , Pauline described him as " the best quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning " in 1998 , while " ESPN " ′ s Mel Kiper , Jr . went even further , calling Luck the best quarterback prospect since John Elway in 1983 . Despite Robert Griffin III ′ s impressive Heisman Trophy winning season , Luck ' s status as the No . 1 overall draft prospect was never questioned . Throughout the 2011 NFL season , some fans called for their teams to try to lose their remaining games ( or " Suck for Luck " ) , in order to improve their chances for the first pick in the draft . By midseason , the Miami Dolphins were believed to be the " frontrunners " for the No . 1 pick , and drew criticism from their former franchise quarterback Dan Marino . The Indianapolis Colts won the " Luck sweepstakes " with a 2 - 14 record . Ending speculations on April 24 , Colts general manager Ryan Grigson announced the team would take Luck with their first overall draft pick . The decision became official on draft day , April 26 , 2012 . Luck was the fourth Stanford quarterback to be selected first overall , after Bobby Garrett in 1954 , Jim Plunkett in 1971 , and John Elway in 1983 . Luck was the second Stanford QB to be taken first overall by the Indianapolis Colts ( John Elway 1983 ) Indianapolis Colts . On July 19 , 2012 , Luck officially signed a four - year contract with the Indianapolis Colts worth $ 22 million . This deal made Luck the fourth starting quarterback for the Colts in the past 2 NFL seasons , ( Following Kerry Collins , Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky ) In his debut , a preseason game against the St . Louis Rams , Luck ' s first pass was a 63 - yard touchdown pass to running back Donald Brown . He also threw a touchdown pass to receiver Austin Collie . In his second preseason game , a 26 - 24 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers , Luck played during the first half and ran for one touchdown , with two interceptions . In his regular season debut , Luck threw his first career interception to Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings . He would later throw his first career touchdown pass to Donnie Avery . Ultimately , Luck completed 23 of 45 passes for 309 yards , a touchdown and three interceptions , as the Colts lost 41 - 21 . The next week against the Minnesota Vikings , Luck threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions . Additionally , Luck got his first career win in the NFL and did this by completing his first game winning drive of his professional career . Before a week 5 showdown with the Green Bay Packers and reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers , Colts head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia and had to take a leave of absence . Rallying the team for their coach ( a movement that become known as " CHUCKSTRONG " ) Luck completed his second career game winning drive by throwing a touchdown to Reggie Wayne with 35 seconds left to pull off the stunning upset . Luck ' s then career - best 362 - yard passing effort set a new rookie QB mark in Colts franchise history . The 18 - point comeback also was the best by a rookie quarterback since Matthew Stafford , the first pick in the 2009 NFL Draft , led a 21 - point rally for the Lions vs . the Browns in 2009 . Luck completed 31 of 55 for 362 yards and three total touchdowns ( 2 passing , 1 rushing ) . Luck won his first career road and overtime game during a week 8 game against the division rival Tennessee Titans . A touchdown pass to running back Vick Ballard on the first drive of overtime gave the Colts a 19 - 13 victory . In a week 9 win against the Miami Dolphins , Luck threw for 433 yards , a new record for most yards in a game by a rookie QB ( surpassing Cam Newton ' s 432 against the Green Bay Packers in 2011 ) . Luck later sent his jersey from the Dolphins game to the Pro Football Hall of Fame . Through Week 9 , Luck had thrown for the same number of yards as his predecessor , Peyton Manning . In Week 13 against the Detroit Lions , Luck and the Colts were trailing 33 - 28 with 1 : 07 left . He was able to get Indianapolis to the Lions ' 14 yard line and faced a 4th down with : 03 left . Luck then threw a screen pass to Donnie Avery who got free and ran in for the winning score , marking a big moment in Luck ' s early career . The win gave Luck his eighth on the season - the most wins by a rookie quarterback drafted first overall in NFL history , as well as his fifth game - winning drive on the season , tying Vince Young and Ben Roethlisberger for the most by a rookie quarterback . On December 23 , 2012 , Luck broke the record for most passing yards by a rookie against the Kansas City Chiefs , throwing 205 to bring his season total to 4 , 183 . Cam Newton held the previous record with 4 , 051 yards .