BCI Hall of Fame Class of 2018: Luke Kuechly

I have a hard time coming up with an adequate way to describe Luke Kuechly’s time at Boston College outside of saying that calling him the best football player I’ve ever seen at BC feels like I’m selling him short. Matt Ryan was incredible and Andre Williams had a senior year for the ages, but for my money, Kuechly was on a level all by himself. From the time that Kuechly came to BC in 2009, he was not just one of the best players in the ACC, but in the country.

A three year member of Boston College, Luke Kuechly quickly carved out a spot of one of the premier linebackers in the country. Originally a three star recruit out of Cincinnati, the list of Kuechly’s accomplishments as an Eagle is almost too long to list. He was a two time consensus All America, a three time member of the All ACC first team, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2011, and took home both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Butkus Award after his junior year in 2011. By the end of his time at BC, Kuechly ranked near the top of the leader boards for total tackles in a career and was first in total tackles per game. As a player, there was nothing that Luke Kuechly was not elite at on the field.

After his time as an Eagle, Kuechly was drafted #9 overall by the Carolina Panthers, where he has exceed any reasonable expectation that even his biggest fans may have had. After winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2012, Kuechly has made every Pro Bowl since his second season, been named a First Team All Pro four times, picked up two more Butkus Awards for the NFL’s top linebacker, and was named the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year. In short, he has been every bit as dominant in the NFL as he was in college. He is rightly considered among the games elite and is on the fast track to the Hall of Fame at his current rate.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to talk about Kuechly without talking about his history of concussion problems. Kuechly was labeled as the ‘poster child of the concussion problem in the NFL’ in a 2017 Sports Illustrated article and it’s easy to see why. Despite being just 27 years old, Kuechly has suffered enough concussions to have people raise serious concerns about his career, and while he ended the 2017 season healthy, it’s hard not to flinch at least a little bit with every hit he throws.

Nevertheless, Kuechly’s impact at Boston College and in the NFL makes him a necessary addition to the BCI Hall of Fame. He has been nothing short of elite at any level of play and still remains on of the most dominant players ever to wear the maroon and gold.