Washington State QB Luke Falk looking to follow in Tom Brady's footsteps

When you call from New England for Washington State coach Mike Leach and you’re looking to talk about Luke Falk, Leach knows where the conversation is going.

“The stuff you read about Luke and (Tom) Brady, I mean, I suspect most of it is true. What’s the old story? If you have a choice between the truth and the legend, print the legend?” asks Leach. “Anyway, that legend of Brady's, that’s something to aspire to if you're a quarterback. And Luke has definitely done that.”


That includes off the field as well, right down to the diet. Falk favors a Brady-like meal plan that includes organic fruits and vegetables, as well as quinoa. According to Leach, he sees himself in the same mold as Brady -- an underdog who is looking to shock the doubters.

“The most important thing that a quarterback does — and I think a lot of guys get this wrong when they get wrapped up in the fastest or strongest stuff — is moving the offense. That’s the most important thing a quarterback can do. Brady does that. And Luke personifies that,” Leach explained.

Like Brady, Falk was a relatively unheralded college prospect who had to fight his way onto the roster. Brady had to sit and wait before he got his chance to start at Michigan. Falk was a walk-on at Washington State who wasn't promised anything. And even now, at this stage of the pre-draft process -- like Brady in 2000 -- Falk isn’t considered to be part of the group of quarterbacks expected to go in the top 10.

At the same time, it’s hard to deny Falk’s totals: he finished his senior season 357-for-534 (67 percent) with 3,593 yards, 30 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. In his college career, he ended up with a completion rate of 68 percent, to go along with 14,481 yards, 119 touchdowns and 39 interceptions.

“He’s focused on being the best quarterback that he can be. With us, you’re not going to play quarterback unless you can really throw the ball, and he can throw it,” Leach said of the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Falk, who is considered by many to be a second-day possibility at this point in the pre-draft process.

“He always modeled himself after Brady from afar. I’m sure a lot of the guys you’re talking to for these stories say the same thing, but he does it more than most. He just absorbs himself in everything. His work ethic is incredible, and he’s a real leader. He was never afraid to take the reins and elevate a team, get everyone around him to improve. I think he’s been one of the steadiest quarterbacks in the Pac-12 the last several years and one of the steadiest I’ve ever seen.”

Falk and Leach really clicked when the quarterback was a sophomore and he landed first-team All-Pac-12 honors after ranking second in FBS by completing 69.4 percent of his passes for a nation-leading 380.5 yards a game (38 touchdowns, eight interceptions). The numbers were almost as impressive his junior year, when he finished with a career-best 70 percent completion rate and tied his career-high for touchdowns in a season with 38.



This past year, there was an unexpected bump in the road with a brief benching, but he still managed to set finish with several Pac-12 career records, including total offense, passing touchdowns, passing yards, completions, and attempts.

Falk distinguished himself both on and off the field the week of the Senior Bowl. He posted a sharp week of practice, all the more impressive when you consider it came in the wake of the suicide of teammate Tyler Hilinski. Off the field, Falk spoke of Hilinski’s death, and called eloquently for more dialogue and understanding when it came to dealing with mental illness. Falk, who wore Hilinski’s No. 3 during Senior Bowl workouts, left before the end of the week to attend Hilinski’s funeral.

"I want people to remember Tyler as an amazing person he was, his bubbly attitude, the draw he had to people and people had to him," Falk told the Seattle Times. "I want people to start talking about suicide. I think us as men suppress our emotions and feel like we can't express what's really going on and how we feel. I think that we need the resources and have the trust that we can do that."

In the end, you can argue that the 23-year-old benefited from Leach’s pass-heavy, “Air Raid” offense. But Leach said it’s Falk’s steadiness, consistency, maturity and work ethic that all feeds into the idea of him succeeding if he ends up in New England.

“I think he’d definitely fit with the Patriots. He’d be a diligent backup behind Tom, or whatever quarterback they have, and learn what he can,” Leach said. “The Patriots were built on consistency and work ethic. They’re not always the fastest team or strongest team in terms of the weight room, but they’re the most consistent, and everybody has a role. They capitalize on that and utilize that. That’s something Luke can certainly identify with.”

Three more things you have to know about Falk:

1. The biggest weakness at this stage of his development? Leach said it’s his footwork. “I mean, there are things he needs to work on,” said the coach. “I would say he needs to improve his footwork. I also think there are times where he needs to realize that instead of trying to carve out the perfect throw, just trigger the ball and trust the receivers to make a play for him. Hell, half the game for a quarterback is to just put the ball in a good spot for the receiver to go up and get it and let them make the play.”

2. One of the things that seems to stick out about Falk when compared to some of the other quarterbacks who are likely to be in the same positional grouping — that is to say, guys who aren’t going to go in the top 10 — is that he seems to be a little more comfortable holding on to the ball and spending that extra second or two in the pocket. When stacked against some of the others, it’s hard to tell if that was simply the product of their respective offenses, their own natural desire to get the ball out as quickly as possible, or a sturdier offensive line. But Falk seems to be more comfortable waiting an extra beat to deliver a throw than some of his contemporaries.

3. Leach’s favorite game from Falk this past season? It wasn’t the 478-yard performance against Nevada or the six-touchdowns he threw in a rout of Oregon State. Instead, Leach pointed to a messy October road win over Colorado where Falk was 17-for-34 for 197 yards and three touchdowns. It wasn’t the flashiest outing, at least from a statistical standpoint, but in “brutal” conditions, Leach said it was a game that really personified what the quarterback was all about.

“Just brutal weather. More brutal than I can really describe,” Leach said. “Swirling rain and snow — and I mean swirling where the ball helicopters and stuff. That game really had to be managed, and Luke did a great job. He started slowly, and I was thinking, ‘What the hell is going on here?’ Then, I look at the other quarterback from Colorado, and he was like 0-for-10. I started thinking, ‘Maybe Luke is actually doing pretty good.’”