Andrew Luck returning to Stanford

That is according to San Jose Mercury News reporter Jon Wilner, via Tim Kawakami’s Twitter account. Stanford University followed Wilner’s report soon thereafter with a release saying that Luck will be back.

Luck is widely regarded as the best quarterback prospect in at least the past decade. Although he was rather terse toward the subject of going pro following Stanford’s Orange Bowl win, many still anticipated Luck to go pro.

Luck finished his sophomore season with 3,338 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He’ll enter the 2011 season the Heisman Trophy candidate and the frontrunner to be the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Still, make no mistake that this is a risky move by Luck. Not even considering the labor problems in the NFL, Luck will have a hard time living up to the hype that will be thrown upon him by fans and media.

When Matt Leinart returned to Southern California for his senior season, no one thought different of it at the time. It was a fun story because he was taking ball room dancing and USC was going to obviously win a national title. The Trojans didn’t and Leinart’s play caused him to slip to pick 10 in the 2006 draft.In Luck’s defense, he doesn’t have Leinart’s flaws. His arm is much stronger and more importantly he seems to be smarter football player on and off the field.

The other risk Luck takes is injury. This one may be a bigger concern because Stanford is losing three members of its offensive line – center Chase Beeler, guard Andrew Phillips and tackle Derek Hall – will be gone next season.