Indianapolis rookie quarterback Andrew Luck commenced his second day of rookie workouts Saturday. However, that wasn’t the biggest news in town as Luck was upstaged by former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning’s return to Indy for a fundraiser.
Manning was in attendance for the annual Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent’s. In the previous four years the event raised $3.4 million and this year could be the best yet considering what is up for auction. Even though Manning is now with the Denver Broncos Vincent Caponi, CEO of St. Vincent Health, stated that Manning will continue to work with the hospital.
“Peyton is no longer a Colt, but he’s been on our team since 1998 and he will continue to be on our team,” said Caponi.
However, the bigger story to come out of this is the comparisons that will be made between the two this coming fall.
Manning is a sure fire first-ballot Hall of Famer when he retires. However, being the first overall pick, Luck has as good of a chance as anyone, and Manning knows that himself.
“He’s a great player, a great kid and he’ll fit in perfectly,” Manning said. “I reach out to most of the rookie quarterbacks because so many of them have been to our camp at the Manning Passing Academy, so I’ve always kind of kept up with them. Andrew attended our camp and that’s what I think is really the reason he was the first pick, because of all the great coaching he got down there.”
Even though Luck has been on the receiving end of some great coaching at Manning’s Passing Academy and at Stanford, whose head coach happened to be former National Football League quarterback Jim Harbaugh for the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Luck knows he still has a long ways to go. Before he can worry about filling Manning’s shoes, he has to start with simply mastering the extensive NFL playbook.
“I’ve got a long way to go, but it is fun,” Luck said, referring to the playbook. “It is a fun challenge for me. I think it is starting to hit home a little bit. Applying it is a little easier out on the practice field, but there is a long way to go.”
By Paul Kasprzak
