107107
Football

Player Bio: Luke Powell

  Luke Powell
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Smyrna, TN
High School:
Smyrna
Height / Weight:
5-8 / 175
Position:
WR
Experience:
4V

At Stanford: A former First-Team All-America as a kick returner, Luke has already established himself as one of the most dangerous players in college football ... He has the ability to make a big play anytime he touches the ball ... He has caught 83 passes in his Cardinal career for 1,560 yards and 11 touchdowns and his 18.8 yards per reception average is the fourth best all-time on The Farm ... He is also one of the school's all-time best punt returners ... He has recorded 47 punt returns for 533 yards and one touchdown ... He is sixth in the Cardinal record book in punt return yards and punt return average ... He was named a First-Team All-America kick return specialist in 2001 after averaging 16.0 yards per punt return, second best in the nation ... He has 16 receptions of over 30 yards in his career... Included in those 16 receptions are three over 70 yards, two from 60-69 yards and two others from 50-59 yards ... Has touchdown receptions from 79, 76 and 75 yards out ... Has five punt returns of over 40 yards in his career.

The 2002 Season: Did not have his most productive season due to an ankle injury that hampered his play throughout the entire season ... He was never able to play at 100 percent ... Nevertheless, he managed to catch 25 passes for 268 yards and one touchdown ... He returned 19 punts for 154 yards ... Had eight rushing attempts for 23 yards ... Began the year with four catches for 65 yards, including a 42-yarder, in the season opener at Boston College ... Longest reception of the year was a 49-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Matter against Oregon State, his only TD reception of the year ... Had a 32-yard punt return vs. Oregon State, a 28-yard return at Oregon and a 25-yard return against Arizona.

The 2001 Season: Named First-Team All-American as a kick returner by the Football Writers Association of America ... He became Stanford's first First-Team All-America kick returner in school history ... Luke finished the season ranked second in the NCAA and first in the Pac-10 in punt returns with a 16.0 average (19 returns, 304 yards) that ranked as the third best single season in school history ... As a receiver, he led the team with 40 receptions for 790 yards and seven touchdowns ... His 19.8 yards per catch average was No. 2 on Stanford's all-time single season chart ... As a punt returner, his long returns included 58 yards against San Jose State, 51 vs. Arizona State, 49 vs. Boston College, 46 vs. Washington State and 28 vs. Notre Dame ... As a receiver, Luke had four big games, including 158 yards and one TD on six receptions vs. San Jose State, five catches for 152 yards and two TDs vs. Cal, six catches for 143 yards against Arizona State and four receptions for 124 yards and one TD against USC ... Set a career-long reception with a 79-yard TD pass play from QB Chris Lewis vs. Cal in The Big Game ... Other big plays included a 54-yard reception vs. San Jose State, 50-yarder vs. USC and a 47-yard catch vs. Arizona State ... He had five catches for 94 yards, including a 41-yarder, in the 2001 Seattle Bowl vs. Georgia Tech ... For the season, he had eight receptions over 30 yards, including four over 40 yards and three over 50 yards ... Selected Second-Team All-Pac-10 as a punt returner ... Started all 12 games at flanker.

The 2000 Season: Proved to be the team's big-play threat on offense ... Had four catches for over 60 yards and two more over 30 yards to go along with a 51-yard punt return for a touchdown ... Finished the year with 18 receptions for 502 yards and three touchdowns and a team-leading 27.9 yards per catch average ... He fell two receptions shy of qualifying for the school's single season yards per catch record (21.1 ypc) ... He had nine punt returns for 95 yards and three kickoff returns for 64 yards ... His big plays included a 76-yard touchdown reception at UCLA, a 75-yard touchdown pass play vs. Cal in The Big Game, a 67-yard reception vs. San Jose State and a 60-yard reception vs. Washington ... He also had a 33-yard catch at Washington State and a 37-yard TD reception vs. Texas ... Did not return punts until the fifth game of the year ... Against Arizona State, he returned a punt 51 yards for a touchdown ... Had four receptions for 149 yards and one touchdown at UCLA ... His 75-yard TD catch at Cal in the 103rd Big Game put Stanford back on top in the fourth quarter ... Came on strong towards the end of the season ... In the last four games, he had 10 receptions for 322 yards and two touchdowns along with his 51-yard punt return for a touchdown.

The 1999 Season: Redshirted as a true freshman.

In High School: An option quarterback in high school who earned the reputation of being a dangerous player every time he touched the ball ... A three-year starter at quarterback and defensive back for Smyrna High School in Tennessee ... As a senior, threw for over 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns and ran for over 1,000 yards and 12 TDs ... Also started in the secondary ... He intercepted three passes, including one for a 95-yard TD, and recorded 60 tackles ... He was selected a prep All-American by SuperPrep and PrepStar ... SuperPrep ranked him No. 8 on its list of the top "skill" athletes in the nation ... Chosen First-Team All-State as an athlete and as a defensive back ... Offensive Player of the Year in his area ... Started as a freshman at wide receiver ... Played basketball for three years ... All-State second baseman in baseball his junior season after hitting .440 and going 15-for-15 on stolen bases ... Senior class president ... Finalist for the Franklin D. Watkins Award as the top Afro-American student-athlete in the country (Chris Lewis was also a finalist) ... Member of the National Honor Society.

Personal Information: Majoring in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity.

Year Rec Yds Avg TD LG PR Yds Avg TD LG
2000 18 502 27.9 3 76 9 95 10.6 1 51
2001 40 790 19.8 7 79 19 304 16.0 0 58
2002 25 268 10.7 1 49 19 154 8.1 0 32
Totals 83 1,560 18.8 11 79 47 553 11.8 1 58