Luke Pardee, grandson of Texas football royalty and ‘Junction Boy,’ commits to TCU
Luke Pardee is ready to bring his family’s football legacy to Fort Worth.
Pardee, the grandson of famed “Junction Boy” Jack Pardee, is joining TCU as a preferred walk-on quarterback. Pardee said he will arrive on campus this summer.
“Football has been a huge part of my life growing up,” Luke told the Star-Telegram in a phone interview on Thursday.
“I was born into it. I love football. It’s had a big impact on my life and doors have opened because of it. TCU is certainly evidence of that. I didn’t imagine TCU is where I’d end up, but I’m excited. I have an opportunity to continue my family’s legacy and I get a chance to write my own chapter.
“Hopefully one day I can become half the man my grandpa was.”
Jack Pardee was a standout linebacker at Texas A&M in the mid-1950s and one of the “Junction Boys” who trained in grueling conditions in Junction, Texas, under legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986.
Jack Pardee died of cancer in April 2013.
After his playing days, which included 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and two seasons with the Washington Redskins, Jack had a lengthy coaching career. He coached at the college and pro levels, notably as the University of Houston coach from 1987-89 when quarterback Andre Ware won the Heisman Trophy in 1989 and the Houston Oilers coach from 1990-94 with four consecutive playoff berths from 1990-93.
He also had stints with the Chicago Bears (1975-77) and Washington Redskins (1978-80). Jack led the Bears to the playoffs in the 1977 season, falling to the eventual champion Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round.
To Luke, though, Jack Pardee was simply “grandpa.” He remembers his grandpa more as a cattle rancher in his later years than football coach.
“I got to know him as a grandfather and I’ve come to know him as the football coach in the years since,” Luke said. “He was a humble coach. He never wanted to brag about himself or embellish himself too much.
“The biggest thing for him wasn’t his legacy in football, it was more about his legacy as a person. What he cared about was what his former players and assistants said about what kind of man he was and the impact he had on them, not about the wins or championships. He certainly set a great example and I hope to get into college coaching one day.”
In the meantime, Luke is focused on making the most of his playing days. His dad, Ted, played football at the University of Houston and is now the school’s football radio analyst.
His brother, Payton, played four years as a wide receiver at Houston (2015-18) and is now on David Bailiff’s staff at Texas A&M-Commerce.
Luke, who is 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, is coming off a season in which he threw for 1,874 yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions as a senior at Klein Cain.
Klein Cain reached the playoffs for the first time in 2019 after the school opened in 2017. Luke has been the school’s only quarterback.
“I pride myself on the intangibles,” Luke said. “The most important aspect of any quarterback is leadership and caring about the guys in your locker room. I had an opportunity at Klein Cain to be the first ever starting quarterback and lay the groundwork and fingerprints on what the standard is here.”
Now Luke is ready for a college career. Even though he’s a walk-on, Luke is still eager to compete for reps in practice and try to work his way up the depth chart.
He’s seen how TCU has developed quarterbacks over the years, pointing to guys such as Andy Dalton, Trevone Boykin and even Max Duggan’s growth throughout his freshman season. He hopes to follow in that path and carry on his family’s legacy in the right way.
“I have a legacy to uphold,” Luke said. “I’m excited about furthering the Pardee legacy in college football in Texas. I certainly have a long way to go, but I’m very excited for a chance to come in and better myself.”
