Denver Broncos executive John Elway paid a visit to his alma mater on Wednesday, setting off speculation that he has his eyes on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who is considered a sure thing to be the No. 1 pick in next year's NFL Draft.
The trip was reported on Twitter by The Associated Press' Antonio Gonzalez, who said Elway also addressed the Cardinal football team about its undefeated season.
A Broncos team spokesman told The Denver Post that Elway and general manager Brian Xanders are out of town this week on a scouting trip.
Brooks: Believe the hype
Bucky Brooks explains what's so impressive about Cardinal QB Andrew Luck's game beyond the numbers. **More...**
Elway's trip west marks the second time in about a month that he's gotten an in-person look at Luck. Elway attended the Cardinal's Oct. 8 home game against Colorado specifically to watch the Stanford quarterback.
The Broncos are currently 2-5, which means they trail at least six other NFL teams in the "race" for the top overall pick.
One former Super Bowl-winning quarterback who isn't gaga over Luck, however, is Phil Simms, who told Sirius NFL Radio on Tuesday that all the hype "is a little too much."
"There's a lot to him. I think his best quality, by far, is that he's big and strong and he's going to be able to move and run in the NFL. ... He manages a game," Simms said, according to Yahoo! Sports.
"But the one thing I don't see, I just don't see big-time NFL throws. I don't care what anybody says. I've watched a lot of him. He never takes it and rips it in there. And you can say what you want but, man, you've got to be able to crease that ball every once in a while. We see it every week in these games. Hey, he can develop it but even in the USC game, you know, he's very careful with it, guides it a lot. That's what I see.
"There's not a lot of rotation on the ball and there's not a tremendous amount of power. Not that you need to have that power arm. I'm not saying you've got to have that exclusively but, man, it sure helps when you can do that because there's four or five plays a game it is about arm strength. And sometimes quarterbacks who don't have it, they pass those plays up. Why? Well, they go, 'I don't know if I can make that throw,' so they throw it short. That's why I'm a little more reserved in my judgment than everybody else."
