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College Football: 25 Greatest Quarterbacks of the 21st century

By John Scimeca

GAINESVILLE, FL - APRIL 9: Life-size statues of the Florida Gators three Heisman trophy winners - Tim Tebow, Danny Wuerffel and Steve Spurrier - are unveiled at halftime of the Orange and Blue spring football game April 9, 2011 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL - APRIL 9: Life-size statues of the Florida Gators three Heisman trophy winners - Tim Tebow, Danny Wuerffel and Steve Spurrier - are unveiled at halftime of the Orange and Blue spring football game April 9, 2011 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /
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Andrew Luck looks to throw against USC. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Andrew Luck looks to throw against USC. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Before Andrew Luck shocked the football world by announcing his retirement weeks before the 2019 football season as a 29-year-old, he was dazzling the college football universe as a uniquely skilled quarterback at Stanford.

Before earning four Pro Bowl invites during his seven NFL seasons, Luck was a four-star high school quarterback recruit from the Houston area who chose to attend Stanford. He redshirted the 2008 season and started right away in his first season of play in 2009.

In Luck’s final two seasons with the Cardinal, he led the team to a combined 23-3 record and a No. 4 ranking (in 2010) and a No. 7 ranking (in 2011). His sophomore season, 2010, ended with a 40-12 Orange Bowl win against Virginia Tech, while his junior season concluded with a loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl.

These two years represented the most wins in school history for Stanford, which also qualified for its first BCS bowls in these two seasons. Luck set an array of school records for a quarterback during his time in Palo Alto.

Luck finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in both seasons, becoming only the fourth player to finish second for the most prestigious individual award in college football. As a junior, who lost out to Baylor’s Robert Griffin III after finishing behind Auburn’s Cam Newton, a  sophomore.

In Luck’s sophomore year, when the Cardinal finished with a 12-1 record, Luck threw for 3,338 yards (which he would surpass the following year), 32 touchdowns, and eight interceptions while rushing for 453 yards on 8.2 yards per carry.

Luck earns a spot on this list for leading the Cardinal to previously unscaled heights and for his versatile talents.

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