Andrew Luck: “I want to earn it on the field before doing too much off the field.”

Andrew Luck spoke on a conference with Bay Area reporters call Wednesday morning. Here is a transcript.

Q: What’s it like being in preparation mode knowing that the people on the other sideline know you very well?

LUCK: I’ve given it a little bit of thought but I don’t think it changes anything from my end. I’m not going to change how I prepare or the process because it’s Coach Harbaugh and Coach Roman and Coach Fangio over there. It’ll be sort of fun I guess to see those guys. I’m very fortunate to have played under them in college. They taught me so much about football growing up but at the end of the day it will be just another game.

Q: When a defense game plans against you, they try to exploit any weaknesses they might find. Are you curious to see how they approach you?

LUCK: I wouldn’t say necessarily me. I’m curious how they’re going to approach us as an offense from a defensive standpoint. But that’s every week. I don’t know if it’s going to be any more this week just because it’s Coach Fangio or Harbaugh.

Q: You know their defensive schemes pretty well I would think. Is there carryover from the Stanford days? Do you feel you have a good understanding of what they’re trying to accomplish?

LUCK: There is some carryover, the basic shape of everything. But this is a different ballgame. The players on the Niners’ D are unbelievable, a lot of Pro Bowl players out there, a lot of studs. We know we’re going to have our hands incredibly full with them.

Q: We always heard the Stanford playbook was incredibly complex. How does it compare with the Colts’ playbook?

LUCK: It’s fairly similar. Complex, yes, in some ways, and in some ways it’s simple. It allows guys to play fast.

Q: Has it been good to have stability with Pep Hamilton who coached you at Stanford?

LUCK: Yeah, it’s been very nice to have Pep come in. Obviously, you don’t want to lose a coach when you’ve had a little success, but if anyone deserved a head job it was BA (Bruce Arians). I’m grateful I got to play for him, but having Pep come was phenomenal, couldn’t have asked for anything more. The learning curve of having to learn a new offense was shortened incredibly. The ability to help guys learn the offense I think helped as well.

Q: Would it be fair to say you and Jim Harbaugh are where you are today because of each other?

LUCK: I can’t speak for Coach Harbaugh but I definitely feel like he helped me get to where I am. He obviously turned Stanford around, his efforts probably more than anybody. That was a big part of me having some success was being able to play at a well-run program and a well-coached football team. I would definitely attribute a lot of where I am to the positive impact that he’s had on me.

Q: Do you envy the read-option quarterbacks and think, “Hey, I can do that.”?

LUCK: I know I can’t do that. I’m definitely not athletic enough. There are some unbelievable athletes in the NFL but I try to make do with what my parents and God gave me and work hard.

Q: Do you remember the first time you met Colin Kaepernick?

LUCK: Yeah, I believe the first time I met him – my memory is a little hazy – but probably at the Manning Passing Camp before my junior year at Stanford. I was very impressed with him. Obviously he’s big, strong, an incredible-looking athlete. But he’s a great guy, easy to get along with. I doubt you find anybody who has a bad word to say about him.

Q: And did you go back and tell Coach Harbaugh about him?

LUCK: I’m sure I did. I must have said something because I remember people talking about that as a story when he got drafted but I don’t remember a specific conversation to that point.

Q: What jumped out to you at that Manning Passing Academy about Kaepernick?

LUCK: He’s a nice guy. He’s easy to get along with, no attitude, no ego about anything. And then when you see him throw, you realize, “Oh my gosh, this guy’s arm is incredible, what I live arm.”

Q: Vic Fangio was saying at Stanford you would occasionally pop into his office and ask questions and want to know more about certain subjects. Were you just trying to get a defensive perspective? What were you hoping to gain from him?

LUCK: I wish I had paid more attention to those conversations now I guess. Coach Fangio was a great coach when I was at Stanford. Guys really loved him. He did so much for our defense there. His door was always open for anybody to come and talk to him. Every now and then I would have the opportunity to walk in and say hi. They whooped our butts every now and then in practice, and just figure out why is the defense doing so well? What are our weaknesses? What are my weaknesses? He was always very accommodating and very patient with probably what seemed to be a young, sort of brat, snot-nose quarterback coming in and trying to learn a little bit about defense.

Q: Is that something you’ve done with coaches throughout your career?

LUCK: Yeah, I definitely try and I think you find a lot of players that do. Quarterbacks, anybody. Wide receivers talking to the DB coach and vice versa because there are so many great coaches around college, around the NFL that I think it’s important to pick the minds of them and see what knowledge you can glean from it.

Q: Did you watch the 49ers’ game against the Seahawks? If you did, was the 49ers’ offense recognizable to you?

LUCK: I didn’t watch any of the game really. It was sort of on in the background. I didn’t quite watch it. From the games I have watched the past couple years going back to Coach Harbaugh’s first year with the Niners, there are some things that you recognize and some things that change – personnel always has a lot to do with what Coach Roman is dialing up.

Q: There is a very good rivalry brewing, Richard Sherman and Doug Baldwin have said some stuff about Coach Harbaugh. Do you have anything insights into that dynamic of Sherman and Baldwin and your former coach?

LUCK: No, I don’t. I’ve got enough to worry about on our end. What happens between them happens between them. It’s none of my business.

Q: What is your stance on endorsements?

LUCK: I’m definitely not against endorsements. I’m trying to do things that make sense, that fit, that I use in my life so I don’t have to lie when endorsing a product.

Q: What are some that you do endorse?

LUCK: Clips is an audio company in Indiana. Body Armor is an athletic fitness drink. I did some stuff with Quaker and Nike as well.

Q: Are you hesitant to get too much exposure too early in your career? Is that something that’s in the back of your head?

LUCK: I want to earn it on the field before doing too much off the field. I didn’t have much time in the offseason of my rookie year to engage in that because I was finishing school. There are a bunch of different factors.

Q: What’s your impression of the 49ers’ defense?

LUCK: They’re good all-around, especially they’re front-seven. The guys upfront are big, strong, tough guys that can cause havoc.

ME: How well does Vic Fangio know Pep Hamilton’s offense? Do you have to change anything like audibles?

LUCK: Pep probably has a better answer for you there. They’ve been a couple of years removed. We’re not going to blatantly call out plays that he would know. We’ll go out and play football and not worry too much about that.

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