Northville senior QB primed to make opportunity count

Prior has learned valuable lessons while waiting in the wings

The wait is over for Northville senior quarterback Luca Prior — and not a minute too soon for the personable spiral-thrower.

The 6-foot-2, 170-pound lover of football played well in spot duty throughout his junior season and is embracing the chance to tackle the first-string gig.

“Luca has had a tremendous off-season,” said Northville Head Coach Matt Ladach. “He has tremendous leadership skills. He’s not afraid to tell guys what they need to hear and he’s a guy everybody respects because he goes about things the right way.”

The outstanding student — he has earned a 3.6 grade-point average heading into his final year of high school — took some time to answer a few questions (some football-related, some not) Monday morning from SocialHouseNews.com Editor-In-Chief Ed Wright.

What was your first “I love football” moment?

Definitely playing for the first-ever flag football Northville Stallions team in 2012. It was like a big ‘Welcome to sports’ moment when I was eight years old.

Does the number you wear (17) have any personal significance?

Number 2 was always my number growing up because I was a big baseball guy and Derek Jeter was my favorite player, but it wasn’t available when I started playing high school football. I changed to 17, love it now and rolled with it.

How helpful has it been playing football since you were young with many of your current teammates?

It’s huge being able to relate to guys I’ve played with my whole life. The core of the team we won the Super Bowl with in eighth grade is here — we lost a few guys to (Detroit Catholic Central) — so we’re all on the same page mentally. Having the opportunity to go to battle together with them is special.

How did you handle losing out on the starting job your junior year?

I thought I competed well (during the summer before his junior year), so I thought I gave myself a shot to start. When I didn’t get the starting job, I think I used it as an opportunity to work harder and mentally learn the game better.

What’s been your favorite class in high school?

We did announcements last year and that was a lot of fun. I’m big into economics, history and (advanced-placement) government.

Would you like to get involved in politics when you’re older?

Politics are interesting, but I’m leaning more toward a career in business.

What is your favorite part of two-a-day practices (the Mustangs practices run 9-11 a.m. and 4-8 p.m.)?

Definitely being here with my teammates. It doesn’t feel like such a long day when you’re having fun playing football; it doesn’t seem like a job. I love coming out here every day.

What’s your favorite book?

Probably ‘The Blind Side’. I’m a huge fan of football books and that story in particular was interesting to me.

What do you like best about living in Northville?

The proximity to friends and there’s always something to do.

What’s the worst movie you ever watched?

I just watched something on Netflix called ‘The 15:17 to Paris’. The acting was so bad and the plot was horrible … I couldn’t even explain to you what was going on. I turned it off when there was about 10 minutes left.