Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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102 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW you every day, text you every day, stuff like that. I think it was pretty different for him than it was for me. But it was a cool process." Even though his high school head coach was a member of Notre Dame's last team to win a national cham‑ pionship, Luke said he was not steered toward South Bend. "I had a lot of coaches in high school that kind of had a fa‑ vorite for a certain team, like OU or [Ari‑ zona State] or what‑ ever. But none of my coaches really had a big influence on my decision," he said. "The thing that I liked most is that they were all there as a resource. None of them were trying to persuade me or anything. They were more just used as information." Initially in the recruiting process, Luke said, he was determined to find a school where he could play immediately. Although that focus eventually shifted to education, in Notre Dame he found a fit that checked both boxes. "At the end I started realizing that football's not forever, so I need something that can help me fall back on something positive and very valuable, which is a Notre Dame education," he said. "When I narrowed it down to those few teams, that's what stood out the most." Luke played in all 13 games as a fresh‑ man in 2013 as an immediate contributor. The next fall, he was inserted into the start‑ ing lineup after Russell was suspended as part of the academic investigation. He was called upon to contain explosive receivers such as Stanford's Ty Montgomery, Flor‑ ida State's Rashad Greene, Louisville's DeVante Parker, Ari‑ zona State's Jaelen Strong and USC's JuJu Smith‑Schuster, and more often than not excelled, including finishing with the most passes defensed by a Notre Dame player (15) since second‑round pick Dave Waymer in 1978. As usual, Luke quietly went about his busi‑ ness and let his performance do the talking. "He's done a really good job in his leadership role. I'm really proud of him for that. His communication when he's on the field — because he's such a smart and savvy player, of helping guys get lined up, helping identify offensive formations and what they want to try to do to us defensively — he's done a great job with that." DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH TODD LYGHT ON LUKE Luke tied for the team lead with two interceptions, led the squad with five passes broken up and seven passes defended, and ranked ninth with 41 tackles last year. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA