There are tons of talented linebackers in the NFL but none may be better than Luke Kuechly for the Carolina Panthers. Since being drafted ninth overall by the Panthers in the 2012 NFL Draft, he's been an absolute wrecking ball on defense.
Kuechly is heading into his eighth year in the NFL and he has already put together an impressive resume. To clarify, Kuechly has achieved six Pro Bowl appearances and five All-Pro selections in his seven seasons.
In addition, the Panthers anchor on defense won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2012. Then, he followed that by taking home the AP Defensive Player of the Year Award the following season.
His accomplishments and talent are unquestioned but he's a guy who keeps to himself for the most part. Therefore, there are probably a few tidbits that fans may not know about the outstanding linebacker.
As a result, here are a few things that you should know about Luke Kuechly of the Carolina Panthers.
3. Kuechly Grew Up in Cincinnati, Ohio
The Panthers leader on defense was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and grew up there. Cincinnati is where Kuechly played high school football and began developing into the player he is today.
Kuechly played high school football at St. Xavier High School where he played both sides of the ball. As expected, he played linebacker on defense but on offense, he was playing along the offensive line.
The All-Pro linebacker never took interest in being an offensive lineman but was fascinated with playing linebacker. In his junior season, Kuechly shifted to just playing linebacker and his team won the State Title.
To cap it off, in his senior season, he totaled 130 tackles, one sack, three forced fumbles, and an interception.
Some college teams were impressed with his abilities and he was recruited heavily by a few.
2. Kuechly Shattered Records at Boston College
After high school, it was known that Kuechly was deciding between Boston College, Stanford, and Duke as the college he would attend. He chose to attend Boston College and never looked back from there.
Kuechly would play football at Boston College for three years. In college, he became an unstoppable threat at linebacker. So much so, he shattered records for the university and the NCAA as a whole.
From 2009-2011, Kuechly led the ACC in total tackles. Plus, he also led the entire NCAA in tackles in 2010 and 2011 with 374 combined tackles. His 532 total tackles is an NCAA record that still stands to this day.
As a junior in 2011, he won the Dick Butkus Award for being the country's best linebacker in college football.
The rest is history, as Kuechly picked right where he left off when he arrived in Carolina.
1. Kuechly is a Middle Child of Three Boys
Everyone knows that Kuechly plays with a certain level of toughness that is unmatched. That may be due to growing up in a family where he had two brothers—him being the middle of the three.
The Panthers linebacker has an older brother named John who attended Ohio State University and spent time in the U.S. Army. Having an older brother can help make you tough in many ways—with both annoying each other at times.
He also has a younger brother named Henry who graduated from high school in the past couple of years. All of them attended the same high school at St. Xavier and all played sports.
Growing up, all three of them would play basketball in the driveway together and would play football as well.
One of the many positive traits for Kuechly is his toughness and he likely got that from growing up with two brothers in his family.
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