Heisman Trophy: Andrew Luck Will Use Second Place Finish as Motivation for NFL

Andrew Luck's second consecutive Heisman Trophy runner up finish will motivate him to be an even better player in the NFL than he was at Stanford. 

"Obviously, I’d love to win," Luck said via the Boston Herald. "But my motivation comes more from trying to win football games with my team. It’s the wins and losses that count."

Winning football games is what Luck does best. Over the last two years with the Cardinal, Luck is 23-2 as the starting quarterback and has led Stanford to BCS bowl berths in both seasons. He dominated the Orange Bowl versus Virginia Tech last season, and should obliterate a weak Oklahoma State defense in the Fiesta Bowl in January.

Widely considered the best draft prospect in college football, Luck's great work ethic will help him improve and succeed at the next level. 

His decision to return to Stanford showed a sign of maturity, he could have left for the pros and been a top-five pick. However, he understood there were parts of his game that needed work.

Do not underestimate the effect that losing the Heisman can have on players. Recent Heisman runner ups include Vince Young, Darren McFadden (twice), Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson and Marshall Faulk.

Those are some fantastic players. Even if losing the Heisman was not the main reason they worked to become great pros, it certainly was a chip on their shoulder.

Since Luck has been considered the top pick since the start of the season, people in the media have pointed out his faults more quickly than normal.

Luck has been so good over the past two seasons that people are tired of saying how great he is, especially after his Cardinal lost to Oregon in November—a loss that was not Luck's fault.

We saw Peyton Manning finish second in the 1996 Heisman voting and he turned out to be one of the best quarterbacks of all time. Ironically, Luck may be Manning's teammate on the Indianapolis Colts next season. The Colts have yet to win a game and look assured to get the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft.

Luck will prove in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State that he is the best quarterback in the country and a player destined for greatness in the NFL.

Luck did not get the chance to win college football's most prestigious award during his career at Stanford, but he has proven he is the best draft prospect and will use this Heisman failure to drive him to become even better.

Nicholas Goss is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report

Follow @NicholasGoss35