Andrew Luck: Incredible Maturity Can Be Attributed to Sound Family Background

Andrew Luck is going to be the No. 1 draft pick selected in the 2012 NFL draft for a wide variety of reasons.

He has the arm strength, athleticism and intelligence to be one of the stars of the league. But more importantly, he has a sound family background.

His dad Oliver Luck has seemingly held every position in his adult life one could dream of in sports. He was a former NFL quarterback, Rhodes Scholar finalist, former president and CEO of NFL Europe and is now the athletic director of West Virginia.

He has done it all, but his best accomplishment may be his son Andrew. ESPN’s Elizabeth Merrill wrote a spectacular in-depth piece on Oliver, and tries to explain how he has affected Andrew on the field:

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Oliver Luck's influence is somewhat intangible. It's there in the huddle where, no matter the situation, Andrew is seemingly unflappable. It's the reason Oliver's son, an All-American at Stanford who is about to get his degree in architectural design, is so well-prepared and grounded.

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You can’t put your finger on it per say, but it is there.

Andrew was incredibly lucky to have such a grounded father that had to work so hard to achieve success. After a short and underwhelming career in the NFL, he had to fight for everything in his professional career. He left the NFL at the age of 26, and never regretted it for a moment.

He was stuck behind the incredible Warren Moon, and knew his chances of overtaking him were slim to none. So he moved on. He didn’t cling to a dream that was unattainable. Oliver stayed realistic and humble.

He installed this into his son Andrew, who was like a sponge when it came to listening to his father. Oliver led by example, and Andrew is now doing the same thing. The already famous QB has taken it all in stride, showing nothing but class in every appearance in front of a camera. Few 22-year-olds can handle all of the attention, and Luck is passing every test with flying colors.

His leadership consists of taking teammates to the side and discussing what needs to change. He doesn’t yell in others' faces and show them up in front of the cameras. He stays calm in the heat of the moment and never panics.

Personality and intelligence only go so far in the NFL, but when you are investing the future of your franchise into one person, he needs to be mentally stable—and there hasn’t been anyone more prepared for NFL success than Luck in a long time.

The Colts are in good hands with Andrew Luck. 

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