It’s tough to get someone on the UCLA football team to name a weakness of Andrew Luck’s, but anyone could start listing his apparently innumerable strengths.
Luck is simply an NFL player who decided to keep playing college football.
“It’s hard to compare him,” redshirt senior transfer cornerback Jamie Graham said. “He has the running ability of (Tim) Tebow, and the throwing ability, his progressions, I would want to compare him to Peyton Manning.”
He also has the mind of … well, a Stanford undergraduate, one who cited his desire to get his architecture degree as the main reason for passing up a chance to be a top NFL Draft pick, and one who happens to play quarterback for the No. 6 Stanford team that UCLA (2-2, 1-0 Pac-12) travels to face this weekend.
“(Last year), there would be times when we were trying to substitute our packages in, and he would just notice that,” sophomore safety Dietrich Riley said. “He would see us substituting, and he would just run a play. He’s just that smart. He does all the audibles, he’s a leader on and off the field, and he’s smart.”
Last year’s 35-0 wash at the hands of the Cardinal was one of the worst losses of coach Rick Neuheisel’s UCLA career. In the second game of the “pistol era,” the Bruin offense failed to reach the red zone.
A year later, UCLA comes into the game with the running identity that defined the 27-19 win at Oregon State on Saturday, when the Bruins rushed about four out of every five plays. But Neuheisel has said he wants to air it out more against the Cardinal (3-0, 1-0).
“They have a lot of size up front, and we know we can take advantage of them by spreading them out,” redshirt sophomore wide receiver Shaquelle Evans said. “We have to be crisp in our pass game to be able to make them play in space.”
While there’s not much to take away from a five-touchdown shutout loss, the defense can build off some positives from last year.
UCLA held Luck to a season-low 151 passing yards on 11-of-24 passing, his season low in completion percentage. But what he couldn’t do with his arm, Luck did with his feet, rushing seven times for four first-downs and 63 yards.
Luck’s forte is throwing the ball, but stopping his scrambling is just as vital.
“He is a pocket passer that can run,” linebackers coach Clark Lea said. “On third and (long), you may have him all covered up as far as routes go, but he has the ability to tuck the ball and go and get whatever he needs.”
There’s no best time to have a large chunk of your secondary nicked, but the worst time would probably be the week before you have to face arguably the best quarterback in the country.
Neuheisel has said he expects all of his wounded to be ready Saturday, and the biggest boon could be Graham, who would be making his first appearance in UCLA blue and gold if he played.
Just after transferring from Vanderbilt, Graham went down with a torn right meniscus. He’s eager to go after the top Pac-12 passer.
“I feel like I’ve been against a lot of great quarterbacks in the SEC,” Graham said. “To go against him, it’d be a blessing. … It would look good for our team to actually beat them, and show that our defense is serious.”
Beating the Cardinal would require finding a weakness in his game. The Bruins would be fortunate to do that, but Luck won’t be on their side.