Ripple Effect: How Stanford's Andrew Luck May Just Set an NFL Draft Trend

Today the NFL draft got a bit shaken up. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, virtually a lock for the No. 1 overall pick, announced that he would stay at Stanford because he is "committed to earning my degree."

Luck was in the top 10 of all FBS quarterbacks in completion percentage, passer rating and touchdowns, while leading his Cardinals to an Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech.

Now of course this leads to the question of who will be the new No. 1 choice, but also who will still enter?  

With Luck staying at Stanford, he not only sends a message that he is, as he says, committed, but also that maybe he is not so sure there will be a next year in the NFL.

Now, Luck is a smart kid, and many other pro prospects such as Cam Newton, may see this and question their entrance to the draft as well. Out of Scouts Inc.'s top 32 prospects, 16 are draft-eligible underclassmen, four of them being in the top five.

So what does this mean for the draft? It means that players like the Mark Ingrams of the world, or the Justin Blackmons who have a great supporting cast and title hopes may just choose to stay back and try to win a Heisman, or a national championship.  

Even more significant though is the fact that now, the NFL's draft class of 2011 may be thinned, making for not only a less interesting draft, but also a less interesting season, and most importantly an even greater chance for a lockout in the near future.

Now, maybe I'm overreacting and Luck seriously just wants a college degree from a very academically distinguished school. Or maybe other players may not follow suit and go to the draft. Maybe there will be an NFL lockout anyway, and none of this will matter because everyone will go back to school anyway.  

But is there a slight possibility that Andrew Luck is the first wave of a ripple effect that could force a boring NFL season and a lockout? Well, anything is possible.