2025 signals a fresh chapter for Stanford football. With Andrew Luck stepping in as the program’s first-ever general manager, there’s renewed hope on The Farm. Why not? The former Cardinal legend and No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick returns to where it all began. From Orange Bowl glory to Fiesta Bowl fights, Luck once led Stanford to national relevance. But recent years haven’t been kind—four straight 3-9 seasons have dimmed the shine. Now, with Luck calling shots off the field, the program is betting big on a bold rebuild.

After years of frustration, Stanford football is turning the page with bold moves and big names. The return of Andrew Luck as GM sparked buzz, but the hire of his former NFL coach, Frank Reich, as interim HC has truly energized the program. With a new AD also on the way, it’s a total reset from top to bottom. Gone is Troy Taylor, whose tenure failed to inspire. In his place, a culture shift is already underway. Now, as summer training kicks off, the Cardinal are embracing a new mindset—tougher, sharper, and ready to rise.

On the June 16th episode of Pardon My Take, Stanford’s new GM, Andrew Luck, found himself on the recruiting hot seat. Hosts Dan Katz (aka Big Cat) and Eric Sollenberger tossed a playful but pointed question his way: “Let’s say Big Cat and I are five-star quarterbacks with offers from Miami, LSU, Ohio State, James Madison, and Texas—what’s your pitch to make us choose Stanford?”

Luck didn’t flinch. He leaned into the Cardinal’s proud quarterback legacy, saying, “All right, there’s a couple things. One: John Elway, Jim Plunkett, myself, Kevin Hogan—incredible history. Our head coach—quarterback. When I went to Stanford, head coach was a quarterback: Jim Harbaugh—your guys’ best friend, right?” It was a confident pitch—and a timely one—as Stanford looks to turn the corner under Luck’s leadership.

Stanford’s QB legacy runs deep, with names that shaped both CFB and the NFL. Jim Plunkett set the tone, winning the Heisman in 1970 while racking up nearly 8,000 total yards. John Elway followed, throwing for over 9,000 yards before going No. 1 in the 1983 NFL Draft. Andrew Luck brought the Cardinal back to national prominence, leading them to BCS bowls and earning his own No. 1 pick in 2012. On top of that, Kevin Hogan added his mark with over 10,000 total yards and 75 TDs. Even Jim Harbaugh, a former Stanford QB himself, once led the program as HC—proving the Cardinal’s QB roots run strong and wide.

Then came Andrew Luck’s bold NIL pitch—the kind you don’t often hear from Stanford. Luck leaned in, making it crystal clear that the Cardinal could hang with anyone in the modern recruiting world. “We are competitive in the NIL world. And the Stanford decision—both—is NIL here and now, and then, I think in many ways, OG NIL. Like, you’re going to be connected to the best network in the world, in whatever industry you want to go in. We—this place—produces leaders at a scale that no other place in the world does. Stanford is special in that way,” said Luck. It wasn’t just a pitch—it was a reminder that Stanford’s brand stretches far beyond the football field.

However, Andrew Luck didn’t hold back as he wrapped up his pitch with a blend of humor and hard truth. He painted a full-circle vision for any five-star recruit—one that starts with stardom on the field and ends with boardroom success. “You’re going to have a long NFL career. You’re going to crush it in college, going to go to bowl games, going to do all that—all that fun stuff. And then, at some point, you know, you’re going to have to transition—to be a podcast host and, you know, running a multi-billion dollar media conglomerate. And you’re going to want to know Stanford people to help you get there,” said Luck. So, for Luck, it wasn’t just about football—it was about life after the final snap.

While Andrew Luck delivered a bold and compelling pitch to lure five-star talent, interim head coach Frank Reich offered a more sobering update—recruiting at Stanford still faces real challenges.

Andrew Luck’s former NFL coach voices concern

How high is the bar at Stanford? According to Frank Reich, maybe a little too high—at least when it comes to recruiting elite football talent. During a June 1 appearance on the Lots to Say podcast, Reich opened up about the unique hurdles he’s facing. Host Bobby Jones nailed it with one pointed observation: “One of my friends, Vanderbilt football coach Clark Lea, talked about how rigorous the academic standards are at Vanderbilt to also play football. Stanford feels similar, except more accomplished in the football side of things. But you have to recruit a certain type of kid to go to school there, right?” That’s the tightrope Reich now walks—finding star athletes who can also pass Stanford’s sky-high academic filter.

And the moment Bobby Jones mentioned Stanford’s tough academic filter, Frank Reich didn’t hold back. The interim HC burst into laughter, admitting how quickly he realized just how serious things get in Palo Alto. “Oh yeah. And I found out really quick that they’re real serious about that here,” said Reich with a chuckle. Despite his $10 million net worth and years in the NFL, even he was stunned by the school’s recruiting standards. He shared one eye-opening moment: “There was one guy we were looking at…I thought his tape looked pretty good,” Reich recalled. “They did a quick study of his grades, and his grades were good… But they were not good enough for Stanford.”

And when he pushed back? The answer was final. “I just asked… ‘There’s nothing we can do?’ [They said], ‘No, there’s nothing…The grades aren’t good enough.’” In short: at Stanford, good isn’t always good enough. “And so it is a smaller pool of student-athletes that we can recruit. But that’s, I think, one of the things that makes this a pretty cool place when you’re going into college football,” admitted Reich. But the challenge doesn’t stop at admission. At Stanford, the grind continues long after signing day. Student-athletes aren’t just juggling playbooks—they’re balancing one of the toughest academic loads in the country. It’s not just about making the roster; it’s about surviving and thriving in a place where excellence is the baseline, on and off the field.