It appears that Colts owner Jim Irsay has Andrew Luck on his mind, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports. Irsay talked about rare, generational talents and gave off a strong impression that the Colts would certainly consider drafting Luck if given the opportunity with one of his comments:
"Guys like that (referring to Peyton Manning and players projected to be like Luck) come along so rarely. Even if that means that guy sits for three or four years, you'd cerintaly think about taking him...you see what Green Bay did with [Brett] Favre and [Aaron] Rodgers and you'd like to do the same thing."
The NFL is usually strict about team personnel talking about college stars who haven't yet become draft-certified, but that's not the case this time around. According to Pro Football Talk, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello sent out an email with the following statement about Irsay's comment:
"It was well understood by Andrew Luck that he would have been the top pick or a top 5 pick if he came out after LAST season. He decided to stay. The comment you cite [from Irsay] is not the type that is of concern in terms of influencing underclassmen."
The whole situation makes you wonder just where the line lies for comments from NFL team representatives. With regards to Luck, the line appears to be pretty lenient.
It also makes you wonder what the NFL might look like next year with Manning under center for the Colts and Luck soaking up the NFL experience from the sideline. The Manning-Luck, Favre-Rodgers comparison? It's an interesting hypothetical parallel that would likely bug Manning and amuse Luck.