Athlon Sports takes a look at the tale of the tape, pitting Luck vs. RG3 in every measurable and intangible attribute necessary to be a franchise quarterback at the next level.
PEDIGREE
LUCK: Born Sept. 12, 1989 in Washington, D.C., to Oliver and Kathy Luck. Father played quarterback at West Virginia and in the NFL for five years with the Houston Oilers, and is currently the athletic director at WVU.
RG3: Born Feb. 12, 1990 in Japan, where Robert Jr. and Jacqueline Griffin were stationed. Both parents are retired sergeants in the U.S. Army. Griffin is also recently engaged to Baylor’s Rebecca Liddicoat.
EDGE: Both have stable, two-parent homes and are essentially the same age. But LUCK comes from NFL bloodlines, which is always an advantage.
STATURE
LUCK: 6’4”, 234 pounds, 32 5/8” arms
RG3: 6’2”, 223 pounds, 32 1/4” arms
EDGE: Both have the frame necessary to play quarterback in the NFL, where quarterbacks range from defensive end-sized Cam Newton (6’5”, 248 pounds, 33 3/4” arms) to barely big enough Drew Brees (6’0”, 209 pounds, 31 1/4” arms). LUCK has prototypical size.
FOOTBALL IQ
LUCK: Raised by a former quarterback father and coached by 15-year NFL veteran signal-caller Jim Harbaugh. The NFL Coach of the Year and current San Francisco 49ers boss, “Captain Comeback” was instrumental in Luck’s development at Stanford, where Harbaugh coached from 2007-10.
In his final season at Stanford, Luck did his best Peyton Manning impression at the line of scrimmage. “We put the formation out there and let Andrew call the play. It’s 100 percent up to him to get us in the right play,” explained Cardinal coach David Shaw, who was Luck’s offensive coordinator prior to taking over the top spot.
RG3: Orchestrated Art Briles’ spread offense to perfection. Not to imply RG3 is a “system quarterback,” but Kevin Kolb (2003-06) and Case Keenum (2007) also put up video game gaudy numbers in Briles’ quick-strike attack when he coached at Houston.
EDGE: LUCK ran a pro-style offense in which he was the centerpiece play-caller and playmaker, a la Manning.
LATE-GAME LEADERSHIP
LUCK: Showed the heart of a champion in 2011 during a triple-overtime win over USC (56–48). Luck threw a costly pick-six to give the Trojans the lead with 3:08 remaining in regulation before marching the Cardinal downfield to tie the game with 38 ticks on the clock — before leading three TD drives in the overtime win. In 2010, Luck led a nine-play, 62-yard drive in the final 1:08 to set up a game-winning FG to beat USC (37–35) as time expired, and had a fourth-quarter comeback to take down Arizona State (17–14).
RG3: Proved to be a winner of the highest order in 2011, pulling off four come-from-behind wins in the fourth quarter or overtime — against TCU (50–48) in the season’s Friday night opener; at Kansas (31–30) after a three-TD fourth-quarter rally to force overtime; against No. 5 Oklahoma (45–38) on a thrilling 34-yard TD pass with eight seconds to play, resulting in Baylor’s highest-ranked upset win since 1985; and in his final collegiate contest in the Alamo Bowl against Washington (67–56). In 2010, Griffin came from behind at Texas (30–22) for Baylor’s first win in Austin since 1991.
EDGE: Both have had late-game heroics. Luck had fewer shining moments in the fourth quarter — due in large part to the talented BCS bowl (Orange in 2010, Fiesta in 2011) teams he played on. At times, RG3 seemingly was a one-man show, willing the Bears to victory.
ACCURACY
LUCK: Owns the Pac-12 records for both single-season (71.3 percent) and career (67.0 percent) completion percentage.
RG3: Ranks third all-time in single-season (72.4 percent) and sixth all-time in career completion percentage (67.1 percent) in Big 12 history.
EDGE: Both LUCK and RG3 have shown touch on short and intermediate routes; the difference is negligible.
ARM STRENGTH
LUCK: Was famously criticized by Super Bowl-winning quarterback and CBS analyst Phil Simms. “The one thing I don’t see, I just don’t see big-time NFL throws. I don’t care what anybody says. I’ve watched a lot of him. He never takes it and rips it in there. And you can say what you want but, man, you’ve got to be able to crease that ball every once in a while,” said Simms. “There’s not a lot of rotation on the ball and there’s not a tremendous amount of power.”
RG3: Was able to utilize vertical deep threat — and likely NFL first-round pick — receiver Kendall Wright, who had at least one catch of 40 or more yards in six games and nine scoring grabs covering 30 or more yards last year.
EDGE: RG3 showed the ability and willingness to grip-it and rip-it downfield on a consistent basis. In fairness, Luck might have done the same if he had been fortunate enough to play with an NFL-caliber wideout with high-end speed.
HAND SIZE
LUCK: 10”
RG3: 9 1/2”
EDGE: Protecting the football in the NFL can never be undervalued. It only helps to have big mits when trying to hold on to the ball in sloppy conditions or when being blindsided by a 300-pounder. LUCK has hands in the Drew Brees (10 1/4”) or Brett Favre (10 3/8”) range, while RG3 is in fringy Daunte Culpepper (9 1/2”) or Alex Smith (9 3/8”) territory.
MEDICAL HISTORY
LUCK: Missed a Sun Bowl loss to Oklahoma (31–27) as a redshirt freshman following the 2009 season due to surgery on his broken right index finger.
RG3: Granted medical redshirt after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the third game of his true sophomore season in 2009.
EDGE: LUCK only missed one game during his Stanford career; RG3 missed most of the 2009 season.
ATHLETICISM
LUCK: Ran a 4.67 in the 40-yard dash, had a 36” vertical leap and a 10’4” broad jump at the Scouting Combine.
RG3: Ran a quarterback-record 4.41 in the 40, had a 39” vertical and 10’ broad jump at the Scouting Combine.
EDGE: Although Luck’s numbers were eerily similar to Cam Newton’s (4.59 in the 40, 35” vertical, 10’6” broad), RG3 dazzled the crowd in Indianapolis. Both are elite athletes compared to the majority of their quarterback peers.
COLLEGE PRODUCTION
LUCK: Passed for 9,430 yards, 82 TDs and 22 INTs. Rushed for 957 yards and seven TDs. Posted a 31–7 career record (1–1 in bowls). Won Walter Camp Foundation Player of the Year, Maxwell Trophy, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year.
RG3: Passed for 10,366 yards, 78 TDs and 17 INTs. Rushed for 2,254 yards and 33 TDs. Posted a 23–18 career record (1–1 in bowls). Won Heisman Trophy, Davey O’Brien Award, Manning Award and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Graduated with degree in political science.
EDGE: RG3 barely edges Luck in terms of complete body of work; the Heisman Trophy poses as a powerful tiebreaker.
MARKETABILITY
LUCK: Signed with Nike; first ad explains that Andrew’s hard work “Makes His Luck.” Since shaving his 2011 offseason neck beard, Luck has been as clean cut as any college kid in the country.
RG3: Signed with adidas; wore gold adizero 5-Star shoes at the Combine and a “No Pressure, No Diamonds” adidas t-shirt while working out at his Pro Day and as a spectacled fan at the Baylor-Kentucky NCAA Tournament matchup in Atlanta. Also famously wore Superman socks to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York.
EDGE: LUCK probably has a higher Q Score due to his extended time in the spotlight, but RG3 has quickly established himself as a stylish brand to be reckoned with.
Both are extremely polished dealing with media and fans, understand exactly what is expected of them on and off the field, and appear to be mature enough to handle the responsibility of being the face of a nine-figure franchise.
VERDICT
Although the race to No. 1 is closer than anyone would have predicted at this time last year, LUCK remains the top quarterback in the 2012 NFL Draft. In the areas where RG3 has a clear edge, the gap is not significant enough to surpass Luck as the top passer available. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts where Luck is concerned; he is a worthy heir to Manning and deserves to be the No. 1 pick of the Indianapolis Colts on April 26.
by Nathan Rush
