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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

As luck has it, a premier matchup

Scouts will focus on Stanford’s Luck against UW’s Locker

Bob Condotta Seattle Times

SEATTLE – Husky Stadium has been the host for an almost uncountable number of memorable events in its 90 years.

But it has never witnessed what could happen today – a matchup of two quarterbacks likely to be taken in the first round of the following spring’s NFL draft.

In fact, Washington’s Jake Locker and Stanford’s Andrew Luck, whose teams play in a 4 p.m. game, are not only projected as first-rounders but have each been pegged at times as the possible first pick.

Roughly 14 NFL scouts will be in attendance to see the matchup of Locker, a senior, and Luck, a third-year sophomore who could make himself eligible for the draft. That such a matchup of two potential first-round QBs has never happened at Husky Stadium might seem surprising except for one fact – UW hasn’t had a QB taken in the first round.

“I do anticipate there being a great deal of interest in (today’s) game by scouts,” said Rob Rang, a senior analyst for NFLDraftScout.com/CBSSports.com.

“Teams are always looking for ways to get the most bang for their buck, so to speak, and in Luck and Locker on the same field, arguably the two top quarterback prospects in the entire country can be reviewed on the same trip.”

Each has size that makes scouts drool (Locker is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, Luck 6-4, 235) and better-than-average mobility to go with a powerful arm (Luck has 253 yards rushing this year, averaging 7.2 per attempt, better than Locker’s’ 252 and 3.7).

It was Locker who was viewed as a potential first pick in the 2010 draft last winter before he made the decision to return for one more year. But with UW struggling at 3-4 and Locker’s numbers a little off from expectations, the scouts are beginning to look more closely at Luck as a possible No. 1 pick.

“The current feeling on Jake Locker is that he remains the top senior quarterback prospect and a first-round prospect,” Rang said. “He has not made the strides yet this year that scouts had hoped, but possesses such rare tools and the work ethic to take advantage of them. Locker’s numbers at this point in the season are not far off from those Mark Sanchez put up in 2008 (at USC). If Locker can enjoy a strong finish to his season – which could include a senior all-star game – he could enjoy a similar late leap up the board as Sanchez (fifth overall).”

Fortunately for Locker, he appears to be as healthy as he has been in a while after struggling with a bruised thigh and sore ribs the past three weeks.

Today’s game, though, will be about more than the quarterbacks. Washington is in another must-win situation to achieve its goal of a bowl game after a 44-14 loss at Arizona last week.

And now it faces a Stanford team that is 6-1, losing only at Oregon, and has established itself as maybe the most physical in the Pac-10.