(The Spread) – Despite the fact that his head coach is likely heading for the NFL, Stanford redshirt sophomore Andrew Luck has decided to stay in school for his junior season.
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Sam Bradford signed for $50 million guaranteed as the first overall pick in last year’s NFL draft, so Luck’s decision is a shocking one financially. Based on published reports, the Carolina Panthers were ready to take Luck with the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, so it stands to reason that Luck just passed on a $50-plus million lottery ticket by staying in school.
What makes the decision even more surprising is that Jim Harbuagh, Luck’s coach at Stanford, is interviewing with several teams in the NFL. So the head coach that Luck had all of his success under in college, probably won’t be there when the Cardinal take the field in 2011.
The move is obviously risky because if Luck were to get hurt next season, he most definitely wouldn’t be the No. 1 pick in 2012. His stock will arguably never be higher than it is right now.
Of course, you can never tell what a person’s reasons are for making their decisions. Maybe Luck was scared off by the NFL’s labor agreement situation. As it stands right now, there will be a lockout and there won’t be an NFL season in 2011.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com, Stanford was a 3.5-point favorite over Virginia Tech this past Monday night in the Orange Bowl. The Cardinal covered easily in a 40-12 win.
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