Let's play our semi-annual second-guessing game called Good Decision-Bad Decision.
You are an intelligent, talented quarterback who just led his college team to a blowout Orange Bowl win. Mel Kiper just dubbed you "Peyton Manning with more athletic ability" in an interview with ESPN 980 on Wednesday. Your coach might be leaving for the NFL. Do you follow him out the door?
Did Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck make the right decision when he announced he will remain at the school for another year? The consensus is this was a questionable decision. Why risk injury and a huge NFL payday as the likely No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft? Even someone as talented as Sam Bradford cost himself some cash by going back to Oklahoma for one more season. Washington's Jake Locker may have lost millions by not declaring for last year's draft.
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"[Luck] is an underrated athlete. He has great mobility. He's tough, smart," Kiper said. "What do you want? To me he's as close as it gets to a guaranteed franchise quarterback."
And yet -- despite that rave review from an analyst who leans toward the conservative in most cases -- Luck decided (and rightfully so) to go back to Stanford. Crazy? Well, yes. But circumstances matter. This isn't a kid from a poor background who can really help his family by turning pro. Luck's dad, Oliver, is the athletic director at West Virginia. His parents don't have any obvious financial concerns.
Andrew Luck himself is receiving a free education at one of the nation's elite schools and is progressing toward an architecture degree. This is a kid who can survive a catastrophic, career-ending injury. A famous quarterback with a Stanford degree can't land a high-paying job outside the NFL? Even in this ugly economy Luck likely would thrive. And his reward is another year on campus with his friends -- remember, he will be just a redshirt junior -- and a shot at a Pac-10 title. And if coach Jim Harbaugh returns maybe the Cardinal make a run at a national title. Cold, hard cash trumps these perks most of the time. But not if you don't absolutely need it.