Boston College To Retire Jerseys Of Luke Kuechly And Matt Ryan

The brick facade of Alumni Stadium will be getting a few more jersey’s this fall, as Boston College announced that it will be retiring the jerseys of BC legends quarterback Matt Ryan, and linebacker Luke Kuechly. Athletic Director Brad Bates announced the award via email today:

“On behalf of Boston College and Eagles fans everywhere, I would like to congratulate Luke and Matt on this well-deserved honor,” Director of Athletics Brad Bates said. “Matt and Luke represent the very best of intercollegiate athletics and personify the Jesuit principle of ‘men and women for others.’ Both enjoyed brilliant collegiate careers and have gone on to enjoy success in the NFL. Beyond the gridiron you would be hard-pressed to find two gentlemen who conduct themselves with more integrity, discipline, generosity and kindness. They make all of us very proud.”

Of course Matt Ryan is a legendary quarterback that led Boston College on a fantastic journey towards the top of the national polls, and defeated Virginia Tech in a game that will forever live in BC lore. Ryan went on to an NFL career where currently he has thrown 2,915 of 4,530 passes (64.3 percent) for 32,757 yards and 202 touchdowns while posting a 90.9 passer rating. Ryan still looks back fondly on his time at Boston College

“Boston College is an amazing place,” Ryan said. “I am very fortunate to have had so many great memories during my college years at BC. I continue to be so fortunate with the retirement of my jersey and I am humbled that it will hang in Alumni Stadium with BC legends Doug Flutie, Mike Ruth and now Luke Kuechly. I’m so thankful for the guidance of all my coaches and the support of all my teammates during my time on campus. Football is the ultimate team sport and without their contributions none of this would have been possible.”

Kuechly was the man when BC was at their lowest. In 2012, while BC floundered, Kuechly was a machine that seemed to make every play on the field on his way to sweeping almost the entire award season (on the defensive side) winning the Dick Butkus Award, the Lott IMPACT Trophy, the Bronko Nagurski Award and the Rotary Lombardi Award. He finished his BC career with 532 tackles, include 10+ tackles in 34 straight games. He has gone on to be arguably the best linebacker in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers. Kuechly was honored to have his jerseys retired:

“It’s a tremendous honor to have my jersey retired,” Kuechly said. “It is very important to me because of the love I have for Boston College and the memories I created not only on the field but throughout all of campus. It’s an honor to have my name in Alumni Stadium along with Doug Flutie, Mike Ruth and the other great players who have been recognized. I truly enjoyed my time at Boston College and would definitely choose BC if I had to do it again.”

Currently BC has retired the numbers of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Doug Flutie and Outland Trophy winner Mike Ruth and the jerseys of eight other players: Art Donovan, Bill Flynn, Gene Goodreault, Mike Holovak, Lou Montgomery, Charles O’Rourke, Tony Thurman and Louis Urban. Kuechly will have his jersey retired at the October 22 game against Syracuse and Ryan’s ceremony will come at the November 19 game against UConn.