Andrew Luck returns to Stanford

Via ESPN
ESPN.com news services
STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck will return for his junior season and skip the 2011 NFL draft, the school announced on Thursday.

"I am committed to earning my degree in architectural design from Stanford University and am on track to accomplish this at the completion of the spring quarter of 2012", Luck said in a statement.

Luck was considered the consensus No. 1 pick if he decided to leave school after his sophomore season. He led the Cardinal to a 12-1 record this season, capped off by a 40-12 win over Virginia Tech in the Discover Orange Bowl.

Luck completed 70 percent of his passes in the 2010 season for 3,338 yards and 32 touchdowns. He threw only eight interceptions in 372 passing attempts.

Luck finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting to Auburn quarterback Cam Newton.

He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at Stanford.

And thus hundreds of mock draft have to be corrected.

In all seriousness I really didn't expect this to happen and really clouds the draft picture. A.J. Green could be a realistic target for the Panthers now or if a rookie wage scale is put in place more teams would be willing to trade for that No.1 draft pick.

Panthers will probably sign Charles Johnson to a big deal after his breakout double digit sack campaign so that decreases the chances of them picking Bowers. That would leave AJ Green and Nick Fairley as their main options. Wildcards could be any of the QBs

Wow...the A.J Green sweepstakes become even harder to reach.

This isn't shocking beyond belief, as there's always been talk that Luck and his family put a high value on him finishing his education.

Still, the allure of being the first overall pick in the NFL makes it a big story that he's not going to be available for Carolina.

Especially when you consider what can happen to the draft stocks of highly regarded quarterbacks who elect to return and then end up disappointing in some manner (I'm looking at you, Jake Locker and Matt Leinart).

Expect to see a lot of Bowers and Green at the top of mock drafts now. Not sure who I'd go with at this point.

We'll see how this offseason turns out if we acquire any key FA wide receiver. But seeing that it makes it tougher to get AJ Green, I would look for addressing the issue at SS or OLB and getting Michael Floyd in the 2nd round (assuming he goes to the draft) I'm guessing Jim Harbaugh is either staying in Stanford or being an NFL head coach for either the Whiners or Dolphins because my first impression was that he'd go to Carolina to stick with Luck.

Well this SUCKS!!. Good bye top 2 maybe top 3 wr's.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alec22

Well this SUCKS!!. Good bye top 2 maybe top 3 wr's.

---

Is Cleveland going to reach for Julio Jones or Blackmon at 6 I don't think so. I firmly believe Mike Shanahan will draft his franchise QB at 10 so I still believe the Rams will have their pick of Jones or Blackmon at 14.

As for the number 1 overall I'd say its Nick Fairley. Carolina has some key free agents to retain DE Charles Johnson will top the list. They have absolutely nothing at DT, but they have youngsters David Gettis, Brandon Lafell, and Armanti Edwards at receiver along with Steve Smith. They have nothing at DT Fairley has been dominant all year and could lock up that number one spot the national championship game. Fairley isn't as good as Suh, but who is? 30 more tackles for Suh but only 1 more sack(Fairley has a game left) and they both got a pick.

I'm so glad we weren't put in this position last season. Sucks to be the Carolina Panthers!