When Andrew Luck’s father told him about his experience playing in Hawaii the details were understandably a bit hazy.
"I think he got concussed and knocked out of the game," Luck said of former West Virginia quarterback Oliver Luck’s appearance in Aloha Stadium.
The elder Luck, now West Virginia’s athletic director, was part of the Mountaineers team that lost to the University of Hawaii on homecoming night in 1980. In his first trip to Hawaii, Andrew is looking forward to a considerably more memorable debut in the islands come Sunday’s Pro Bowl.
Luck was added to the AFC roster on Monday when New England quarterback Tom Brady pulled out of the game and will cap his rookie season with the Indianapolis Colts with an appearance in the NFL’s all-star fest.
"I’m just trying to soak it all in, trying to learn something but have a little fun as well," Luck said.
Luck shared snaps with Houston’s Matt Schaub and Denver’s Peyton Manning, the legend he replaced as the Colts’ quarterback, during Wednesday’s practice at Kapolei High School.
The rotation gave Indianapolis receiver Reggie Wayne a chance to catch passes from his former and current quarterbacks. Wayne earned his first five Pro Bowl selections while playing with Manning and his sixth with Luck throwing him the ball.
"It’s cool. (Denver coach John Fox) came to me right before practice and he said ‘you’ve got both of your quarterbacks out here,’ " Wayne said. "I didn’t even think about it until he said that. But it’s definitely a great feeling."
Luck had been linked to Manning prior to his arrival in Indianapolis when the Colts appeared destined for the top pick in the 2012 draft and Luck was the presumptive No. 1 selection coming out of Stanford.
Manning, coming off of a season lost to a neck injury, signed with Denver as a free agent in March and the Colts indeed selected Luck in April.
Now that the Pro Bowl has brought them together, Luck said he might try to pick up some tips from Manning, but "not all the talk’s got to be about football."
"I’ve had the opportunity to know the Manning family for a while," Luck said. "It’s nice to be out there with all these guys and all these superstars and great players, it’s pretty neat."
Luck joined that group following a rookie season in which he ranked seventh in the league — one spot behind Manning — with a rookie-record 4,374 yards. He threw for 23 touchdowns and was intercepted 18 times.
He led the Colts into the playoffs at 11-5 before closing the season with a loss to eventual AFC champion Baltimore in the wild-card round.
"He made strides each week, took it one week at a time and got better and better each week," said Wayne, who caught 106 passes and ranked third in the AFC with 1,355 yards.
"I think he’s going to be very, very special and hopefully I’m around long enough to see him be one of those real top-notch quarterbacks. … He does a great job just preparing for the game so he has what it takes."
Wayne should know after spending most of his career with Manning. He’s looking forward to this week’s reunion.
"When you’ve been playing together for 11 years it does bring back memories," Wayne said. "So hopefully we can make a couple connections in this game."
