NEW YORK — Andrew Luck is heading into his rookie season with big expectations to live up to.
The Indianapolis Colts made Luck, a quarterback out of Stanford, the first overall selection in the 2012 NFL Draft, which began Thursday in Radio City Music Hall.
Luck not only has the weight of the label “No. 1 pick,” but he is also replacing a legend, four-time MVP Peyton Manning, released by the Colts in March.
Luck, whose official selection on Thursday night was more of a formality than anything (the Colts announced earlier in the week they were going to pick Luck) said if his name can just be mentioned with Manning’s when he’s done playing, it would be a “football dream come true.”
“Peyton Manning, arguably the greatest ever. He’s my football hero growing up, and I realized you don’t really replace a guy like that, how can you? Those shoes to fill are huge,” Luck said. “I’m not going to go crazy trying to do everything that Peyton did. I realize [we’re] different personalities, so I’ll put my best foot forward and try to work hard every day.”
The second pick of the draft was also a quarterback. Heisman-winner Robert Griffin III, from Baylor, was taken by the Washington Redskins.
Griffin was sporting socks that read ‘go catch your dreams,’ and the pair was maroon and gold as Griffin was nearly certain he was going to end up in Washington. The Redskins made a trade with St. Louis for the second pick and the rights to Griffin more than a month ago.
“It was pretty cool, even though you know where you’re going, you still want to act as if you don’t,” Griffin said. “I’m excited to be a Redskin.”
The rest of the top 10 in the draft was highlighted by trades.
Cleveland moved to No. 3 to get Alabama running back Trent Richardson, and Jacksonville moved up two spots to grab Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon with the fifth selection. The Dallas Cowboys moved into the top 10 to select LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne sixth overall.
The Philadelphia Eagles made a draft-day trade and moved up three spots to grab Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. Standing at 6-foot-4, Cox made 56 tackles and five sacks in 2011 and was an All-SEC first-team selection.
The Keystone state’s other NFL team selected 12 spots after the Eagles, as the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Stanford guard David DeCastro.
A first-team All-American in 2011, DeCastro was faced with the task of keeping Luck protected. DeCastro was also a first team All-Pac 10 selection last season and was considered by many analysts to be the top offensive guard prospect in the draft.