Luke Kuechly

Luke August Kuechly (, ; born April 20, 1991) is an American football linebacker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Boston College, and was a three-time All-American. He was selected by the Panthers with the 9th overall pick of the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Early years
Kuechly was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, where he was rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com. As a senior in 2008 he had 130 tackles, a sack, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception as a safety. As a junior in 2007 he had 147 tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, and a touchdown as a linebacker. He helped his team go 15-0 and win the Division 1 state title in 2007. Kuechly was a two-time All Greater Catholic League selection at St. Xavier, gaining first-team honors in 2008.

College career
Kuechly attended Boston College, where he played for the Boston College Eagles football team from 2009 to 2011.

2009
As a true freshman in 2009, Kuechly became the Eagles starting outside linebacker after Mark Herzlich announced that he would miss the season after being diagnosed with the rare form of cancer, Ewing's sarcoma. He finished the season with 158 tackles (87 solo), which led the team and conference, as well as being second nationally (first among freshmen). He was the first true freshman in team history to lead the team in tackles and almost broke the freshman tackle record set by Stephen Boyd in 1991. He also had a sack and returned an interception for a touchdown. For his play he was named the 2009 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, was on the 2009 CFN All-Freshman Defensive Team. CFN went even further and named Kuechly to its All-America team. In the Emerald Bowl, Kuechly was named the defensive MVP, registering 16 tackles in a losing effort.

2010
He moved to middle linebacker at the beginning of his sophomore season. He went on to lead the country with 183 tackles (110 solo) and has an ongoing streak of 21 straight games with at least 10 tackles. Kuechly was named a finalist for the Butkus Award and the Nagurski Award. He broke BC's single season record for tackles, topping the previous record of 165, held since 1991 by Tom McManus. After the season, Kuechly was named a unanimous consensus All-America selection. He was the first consensus All-American for the Eagles since Mike Cloud in 1998. Boston College played in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (the same bowl as the Emerald Bowl from the previous season with a change of corporate sponsorship) at the end of the season and Kuechly was named the defensive MVP for a second time.

2011
Kuechly led the nation with an astounding 191 tackles (102 solo) during the season, averaging nearly 16 tackles per game. Kuechly compiled his stats in the 12-game regular season, as the team finished with a 4-8 record and was ineligible for post-season play. He still almost broke the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) single-season tackle record (193, set by Lawrence Flugence in a 14-game season) and did break the single season tackles-per-game record with 15.9 (previously held by Rick Sherrod with a 15.6 average over a 10-game season).

In only three seasons of play, Kuechly set the BC and ACC career tackle records with 532 tackles, eclipsing the previous record of 524 held by Stephen Boyd and only 13 short of the NCAA FBS record held by Tim McGarigle. He also broke the BC and ACC single-season tackle records, records that he had set the year before. On December 4, Dick Butkus personally presented the 2011 Butkus Award to Kuechly at the Boston College team banquet a week before the expected formal announcement of the recipient. Kuechly went on to win the Lombardi Award, the Lott IMPACT Trophy, and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American for the second consecutive year.

2012 NFL Draft
On January 6, 2012, Kuechly announced his intention to forgo his final year of college eligibility and enter the 2012 NFL Draft. At the time of his announcement he was rated the top linebacker available in this draft: Mel Kiper ranked him tenth on his "Big Board", while Todd McShay ranked him thirteenth in his "Top 32". Kuechly quashed any lingering doubts about his athleticism with his performance at the combine, demonstrating rare pass coverage abilities which would allow him to be a "three-down" inside linebacker (ie. not subbed-out on obvious passing downs) which raised his draft stock even further. .

He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round: the first linebacker selected and the 9th overall pick. On May 10, 2012, Kuechly signed a 4-year, $12.58 million contract. On the first day of rookie minicamp, head coach Ron Rivera announced that they will begin with Kuechly playing weakside linebacker, and will eventually begin to rotate him into the middle.