receiving yards, and the two after he
had 300.
Like any corner in today's prolific
passing attacks, Luke was going to
have an off day, and it came at USC,
when the entire team collapsed in the
49-14 defeat during the regular-season
finale. Still, he bounced back with a
sterling effort in the 31-28 Music City
Bowl victory over LSU when neither
speedster Travin Dural nor Malachi
Dupree caught a pass (their combined
51 catches averaged more than 21
yards during the year).
Luke's initiation as a starter and suc-
cess as a sophomore has significantly
aided the Chandler, Ariz., native's con-
fidence in defensive coordinator Brian
VanGorder's scheme that places a pre-
mium on man coverage, provided the
Luke's 15 passes defended last season were the most by a Notre Dame player in 36 years.
PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA
