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The Maturation of Luke

Jeremy Igo

By Jeremy Igo,
in Carolina Panthers

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Jeremy Igo Newbie

Jeremy Igo

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As you all know, Peter King recently published an article where he discussed the maturation of Cam Newton. After spending time interviewing Luke Kuechly on the record one on one, King decided to write about an off the record discussion centered on Cam Newton.

 

It recently occurred to me that Peter King completely missed the opportunity to discuss an actual maturation example in a player. That player is Luke Kuechly.

 

What? Luke Kuechly has matured? Hasn't he always been a mature player? Well, yes and no.

 

For some players maturation means developing into a quality starter. For others, it means developing into a team leader.

 

In 2012, Luke Kuechly came into the league as "pro ready" as any college player could be. Still, he was a rookie, and rookies need mentors. Former Panthers middle linebacker Jon Beason was that mentor for Luke. Beason, who missed most of the season due to injury, took the time to mentor his eventual replacement. In fact, Panthers fans should thank Beason for not only his play on the field, but also the accelerated development of Kuechly. During Luke's rookie season, Beason predicted to me that Kuechly would be a great player in this league.

 

jon-beason-coach.jpg

 

Fast forward to 2014, the student is now the teacher. During the Friday night Bills preseason game, Luke was coaching up his crew on the sidelines well into the 4th quarter.

 

luke-kuechly-1.jpg

 

Kuechly has developed his own unique leadership style, different from Jon Beason's but just as effective.

 

Panthers linebacker Chase Blackburn recently described it.

 

"Fantastic. Quiet most of the time, but when it comes time to talk his words are powerful because he talks so little" Blackburn remarked. "He leads with his play. How he practices, how he prepares, and how he plays the game."

 

Kuechly has become the leader that every franchise in the league would love to have. Quiet but powerful, leading by example. These are the leaders that make every player around them better.

 

Now that is an actual maturation of a player worthy of discussion.

 

 

 

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PantherWake Newbie

PantherWake

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Kuechly is basically the MLB version of what everybody said Andrew Luck was gonna be at QB coming into the NFL and the funny thing about it is that, at the time, I hated the pick because we already had Beason and DT was the biggest weakness on the team.

 

Thank God I'm not a GM.

 

 

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lola Newbie

lola

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I'm so proud to have such high caliber individuals on this team. Luke makes everyone around him better. How can you not want to play hard for someone who gives his all for the team all the time?

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iBBB Newbie

iBBB

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I'm embarrassed, but at the same time feel obligated to say, that I originally read this title wrong and was incredibly confused. 

 

haha, had to go back on top and reread the title to see what you mean. that would be confusing at a glance lol

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lola Newbie

lola

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Luke is a coaches/owner/gms dream of a player. I like the fact he's so quiet/reserve off field but a shiit talking speed demon manbeast between the white lines.

This is how I am going to refer to him from here on out. Eggggggcellent.

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