Luke Kuechly


Luke August Kuechly is an American former professional football player who spent his entire eight-year career as a linebacker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. Kuechly played college football for the Boston College Eagles, twice earning consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the Panthers ninth overall in the 2012 NFL draft.
Kuechly had an immediate impact during his rookie season, as he led the NFL in tackles and won the Associated Press 2012 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award, becoming the third youngest recipient in its history. In 2013, Kuechly became the youngest recipient of the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award in its history.
After retiring following the 2019 season, Kuechly rejoined the Panthers as a pro scout. Kuechly resigned from his position in 2021. In 2025, he was considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, however he was not selected.

Early life

Kuechly was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in Evendale, Ohio. He attended St. Xavier High School in the Finneytown area of Cincinnati, where he played linebacker and safety for the football team. 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, winning the Division 1 Ohio state title, and finishing at the top of several national polls as the best high school team in America. As a senior in 2008, he had 130 tackles, a sack, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception. Kuechly was a two-time All Greater Catholic League selection at St. Xavier, gaining first-team honors in 2008.
Regarded as a three-star recruit, Kuechly was listed as the No. 44 outside linebacker prospect in the class of 2009, which was headed by Jelani Jenkins and Nico Johnson. After official visits to Boston College, Virginia, Duke, and Stanford, Kuechly committed to the Eagles in January 2009.

College career

Kuechly attended Boston College, a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, where he played for the Boston College Eagles football team from 2009 to 2011 under head coach Frank Spaziani.

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 Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. He finished the season with 158 tackles, which led the team and conference, as well as being second nationally. 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 returned an interception for a touchdown against Central Michigan. For his play, he was named the 2009 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year and was on the 2009 CFN All-Freshman Defensive Team. CFN named the true freshman Kuechly to its All-America team.

2010

Kuechly moved to middle linebacker at the beginning of his sophomore season. He went on to lead the country with 183 tackles and had an ongoing streak of 21 straight games with at least 10 tackles at the end of the season. Kuechly was named a finalist for the Butkus Award and the Nagurski Award. He broke the school 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 first-team All-American. He was the first consensus All-American for the Eagles since Jamie Silva in 2007. Boston College played in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl at the end of the season and Kuechly was named the defensive MVP for a second time.

2011

Kuechly led the nation with 191 tackles 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 single-season tackle record and did break the single season tackles-per-game record with 15.9. He broke his own team and conference single-season tackle records set just a year earlier.
In only three seasons of play, Kuechly set the Boston College 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. 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.

College statistics

College awards and honors

Pre-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 Jr. ranked him tenth on his "Big Board," while Todd McShay ranked him thirteenth in his "Top 32." Kuechly squashed any lingering doubts about his athleticism with his performance at the combine and pro day workouts, demonstrating rare pass coverage abilities that would allow him to be a "three-down" inside linebacker, which raised his draft stock even further.

2012

Kuechly was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the first round: the first linebacker selected and the ninth overall pick. On May 10, 2012, Kuechly signed a 4-year, $12.58 million contract.
Kuechly began the season at outside linebacker instead of middle linebacker; After considering Kuechly as starting middle linebacker, head coach Ron Rivera decided to start veteran Jon Beason at middle linebacker due to his experience. When Beason was placed on injured reserve due to a torn Achilles tendon, Kuechly was moved to middle linebacker. Due to his strong performance at middle linebacker, Rivera announced that Kuechly would be the team's long-term starter at that position even after Beason returned from his injury. In a 30–20 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 14, Kuechly recorded a career-high 16 tackles and was honored as NFC Defensive Player of the Week; Kuechly received the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month award in December, recording a league-high 59 tackles over the final five games of the season. He became the second Panther after Julius Peppers to receive the award. Kuechly led the league with 164 tackles during the regular season and recorded eight pass deflections, one sack, two interceptions, and three fumble recoveries. He was awarded the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and received the Defensive Rookie of the Year award from Pro Football Weekly. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.
While not being an official stat kept by the NFL, after tape review, Panthers coaches credited Kuechly with a franchise record 205 tackles, surpassing James Anderson's 174 set in 2011, and became the first rookie to lead the NFL in that department since Patrick Willis in 2007. Kuechly was rated as the 79th best player on the NFL Top 100 list.

2013: Defensive Player of the Year

Kuechly brought his play to a whole new level in his second season, becoming the leader of a stingy Panthers defense that finished the season as runner-up in points and yards allowed. In Week 10, he earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his effort in a 10–9 victory over San Francisco 49ers. On Sunday, December 22, 2013, Kuechly recorded 24 tackles and one interception in a game against the New Orleans Saints, which the Carolina Panthers won and made the playoffs. Kuechly's 24 tackles nearly tied the NFL record for most tackles in a game. After film review, the number was increased to 26, which is six tackles more than the previous team record held by James Anderson, and a new NFL single game record. He earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his game against the Saints. Kuechly was selected to the 2014 Pro Bowl where he had a team high 12 tackles for Team Sanders. Kuechly was named to the 2013 All-Pro Team and recognized as the NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press, joining Lawrence Taylor as the only players in NFL history to win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and NFL Defensive Player of the Year in successive years. Further, Kuechly joined Taylor, Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Dana Stubblefield, Charles Woodson, Brian Urlacher, and Terrell Suggs as the only players to win both awards. Kuechly was rated as the 15th best player in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014 list.

2014

During the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kuechly recorded nine tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and had a tipped pass that led to an interception. In a Week 2 game against the Detroit Lions, Kuechly recorded 11 tackles and two pass deflections en route to a 24–7 victory. During the Panthers Week 5 victory over the Chicago Bears, Kuechly was credited with 15 tackles without a missed tackle and allowed only 47 yards on nine receptions in coverage. Through the first five games of the season, Pro Football Focus has rated Kuechly as the best inside linebacker in the NFL. During Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers on October 19, 2014, Kuechly was ejected for making inadvertent contact with an official; while trying to break free of a pile, Kuechly was grabbed from behind by an official. Not knowing it was an official, Kuechly swung his arm, resulting in his ejection. The NFL later determined that Kuechly should not have been ejected. Kuechly finished the regular season, leading the NFL in tackles with 153, along with three sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, and a career-high 12 pass deflections. He was voted to the Pro Bowl and was also selected to the NFL All-Pro First-team for the second consecutive season. He also won the Butkus Award for the second time, joining Von Miller and Patrick Willis as the only players to win the award in both college and in the NFL.
During the Panthers 27–16 Wild Card Round victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Kuechly made three defensive stops, 10 tackles, one interception, and two pass defenses, one of which he tipped directly to Tre Boston for another interception. During the Panthers' Divisional Round loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Kuechly was credited with eight total tackles. He was ranked 14th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.