Lucks first offer from the Big 12

Houston (Texas) Stratford High School quarterback Andrew Luck is tough to contain on the football field, but he is an easy target off the ponderosa.

With an incredible Quarterback IQ, Luck (6-4, 200-pounds) could be the state's top 2008 signal-caller. He can control somewhat what happens on the field and with his recruitment, but with his peers, he never knows what is going to happen.

"He's a great leader and I can honestly say that I may not have another kid like this as long as a I coach," Stratford coach Eliot Allen said. "He's so humble that his teammates love to razz him. They know he's pretty shy, so they did a skit at a back-to-school dance the other day. His teammates presented him with a Heisman Trophy. He was so embarrassed.

"At a pep rally, the guys wanted to get him to dance. They were yelling, 'go, Andrew, go Andrew.' He was laughing but he wanted to get out the door as fast as he could. His teammates really appreciate how humble he is."

A pocket-passer, Luck started as a sophomore and threw for more than 1,500 yards. He had a tremendous summer and seven-on-seven outing, and will be sitting on top of the recruiting world after the season. His first offer came last week from a Big 12 school with a former NFL head coach.

"He told me that Nebraska officially offered him," Allen said. "He did want me to not tell the team and to keep it quiet. He doesn't want to take away from the team.

"I'm a little surprised that more offers haven't come in, but all of the colleges are telling me that their offers are coming. I know that academics will play a big part in his decision. Notre Dame sends mail and tape all the time. He's going to handle the process very well."

Luck's father, Oliver, starred at West Virginia before playing several seasons in the NFL. Oliver was named the president of NFL Europe and Andrew lived several years in Germany where he took up soccer. He didn't start playing organized football until the sixth grade.

The elder Luck will assist in his son's recruitment.

"He was running the 'I' offense in junior high and we could have moved him up to varsity as a freshman," Allen said. "He broke his collarbone during his freshman year, but he grew and developed so much during that off-season.

"He started as a sophomore and we changed the offense. We didn't want to put too much pressure on his last year, but looking back I think he could have handled it. He's so cool and he excels when the pressure's on. While he's pretty quiet off the field, he has command of the huddle and he gets more vocal when it get's tight."

The Lucks plan on narrowing his list to around 20 and will do their research on each program, academically and athletically.

It's no surprise with his focus that Luck is also the valedictorian of his junior class, a starter on the varsity basketball team and a hurdler for the track team.

Brains and braun? All he needs is a few dance moves.