Here's the short version, a slick -- and incredibly cool -- video package presented by the athletic department. Must watch.
And now here's the long version, something which I believe is unprecedented. A thirty-minute press conference by head coach David Shaw, dedicated almost exclusively to promoting Andrew Luck as the only candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Every year one coach or another touts his player for the award, but usually in a few statements in an interview. You'll likely remember Jim Harbaugh's twenty-second pitch for Toby Gerhart after his three-touchdown performance in his final game against Notre Dame.
But here, Shaw did something different. He met with the media who follow the Cardinal on a daily basis and laid out his case for Luck, complete with a Power Point slideshow and even a peek at the Stanford playbook. He cited one call, "15 DART OPTION KILL 14 BOOK OPTION ALERT HOUND 800 THUNDER 'X' OMAHA," and explained that it actually represents three different plays. Luck makes that call in the huddle, then comes to the line to read the defense and decide which of those three plays presents the best option. If none of those three plays will work, he checks into a fourth.
Shaw's main point is that while people naturally tend to look at statistics when evaluating and comparing players -- and Luck has some impressive statistics -- these numbers pale in comparison to everything else he does on the field.
"Andrew's making the decision at the line of scrimmage," explained Shaw. "I studied quarterbacks for nine years in the NFL; I never heard of a guy -- ever -- doing this in college. Never seen it. Never heard of it."
He went on like this, building his case brick by brick, and concluding without a doubt that Andrew Luck is the best player in college football. In all, he spent about twenty-five minutes of the half-hour press conference pushing Luck's candidacy.
He had me at "hello."
