"Who the hell is this kid?"

[Mr. Scot]

Joe Person goes in depth on the process that led to the drafting of Luke Kuechly.

How the Panthers were sold on Luke Kuechly in the 2012 Draft

Articles like this are a big reason why I subscribe to The Athletic. Lots of interesting stuff in here, including a revelation that some guys on the defensive staff were upset they didn't draft Quinton Coples instead.

Excerpts:

Panthers area scout Robert Haines was responsible for checking out prospects in the Northeast for the better part of a decade. In fall 2009, Haines was in a hotel room in a college town — he doesn’t remember exactly where — writing reports before a Saturday night game. But Haines remembers this: He had the noon regional ACC telecast on as background noise while he worked and kept hearing the announcers mentioning the name of a Boston College freshman.

Haines: I’m just sitting there and hearing, “Luke Kuechly on the tackle, Luke Kuechly.” Time after time after time to the point where I stopped and said, “Who the hell is this kid?” Then I turn around and see this No. 40 running around and making plays all over the field. That’s how we got him on the radar and started tracking him from there.

...

Before returning to Carolina as an assistant coach in 2011, former Panthers wideout Ricky Proehl worked as an analyst for Wake Forest and ISP’s ACC game of the week radio broadcasts. In those roles, Proehl called a couple of Kuechly’s games at Boston College, where Kuechly led the nation in tackles twice during his three-year career (he finished second in the country as a freshman). Proehl’s Kuechly experience was similar to Haines’.

Proehl: It was unbelievable. When I was doing the game, it was literally: “Kuechly on the tackle. Kuechly on the tackle. Kuechly on another tackle.” It was like the whole game. It’s like, who the hell is this guy?

...

Rivera, a linebacker for nine seasons with Chicago, met Kuechly briefly at the Nagurski Award dinner in Charlotte in December 2011. Around that time, Rivera got a call from former Bears teammate Jim Morrissey, whose son Mike played at BC and was Kuechly’s roommate for away games.

Rivera: He said, “Hey, if you’re looking for a linebacker, I’ve got your guy. Luke Kuechly.” I said, “OK.” So January comes around. I get my list and start looking at the list. Obviously, I see Luke. So I called Jim Morrissey up and said, “Hey, can I talk to Michael?” He said, “Absolutely.” So I talked to Michael and (he) told me: “Hey, this guy’s the real deal. He’s a good person. You won’t ever have to worry about him. He’s smart. He gets everybody lined up. He knows how to do it.”

...

Because Boston College restricted scouts’ access to underclassmen, the first time the Panthers met Kuechly as a group was in February at their hotel suite at the combine in Indianapolis. Hurney and Rivera led a big contingent that included Haines, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, linebackers coach Warren Belin, defensive backs coach Steve Wilks, scouting director Don Gregory and personnel official Brandon Beane. Kuechly can still recall vivid details from that meeting, right down to what Rivera was wearing.

Kuechly: Ron was super relaxed. I remember he had on either a vest or sweater. It was like an argyle sweater, Panthers’ blue, gray and white. And he was as friendly as ever. It was one of the best meetings I had because I walked in there and it went immediately to football. To me, that was easy to talk about.

...

Haines: I put like a 20-play highlight tape (together) on him, that was playing in the background as Ron and Marty and everybody talked to him. About three plays in, it was a game at Clemson, he reads this screen before the ball’s even snapped, hits the flat and makes a great open-field tackle. I remember Marty turning to us and saying: “Turn the tape off. That’s all I need to see.”

Kuechly: Some of the other (teams) were talking about like: “How fast are you gonna run? What do you weigh?” All that stuff. I don’t know how fast I’m gonna run. But Ron was like: “All right, we’ll just talk football. What is this look? What are you doing on this play?” I was like, “This, this and this.” He was like, “What is this guy doing?” I’m like, “That, that and that.” Then they show you a bad play. It was all football. And to me that was very relaxing, because going into those rooms, I was nervous.

...

Proehl: I’ll never forget the day we drafted him. There were a bunch of guys on the defensive staff who wanted Coples. They’re like, “Who is this small, White linebacker we just (drafted)?” I said: “I’m telling you, this guy’s pretty special. He’s a ball hawk.” It’s so funny to look back now. I laugh. I think about that all the time.

...

Gregory: We didn’t think about any Defensive Rookie of the Year or (Defensive) Player of the Year. We just thought we had a really good football player. And from there, let the chips fall after that.

...

Rivera: I knew he would be good, but I didn’t know he’d be as good as he was. It’s unfortunate the concussion thing came up.

...

McDermott: I kid Luke. We have a good relationship. And so (he would tell him), “Hey, you weren’t our guy, but we just had to take you because you were the only one left.” I can say that when, if I had to do it all over again, I’d take him at 1.

...

Proehl: The guy is everything you want a football player to be. And person. He’s a great football player. He’s even a better person. Anybody who crossed paths with Luke Kuechly, you’re blessed to have known him. We should all be as polite — at least off the field. Because he’s a son of a bitch on the field. I tell everybody he’s a true Clark Kent. He literally comes in with his glasses, khakis and plaid shirt. And then he walks between the lines and he turns into just a straight baller.

Edited April 12, 2022 by Mr. Scot

[DeSim]

Amazing stuff, thanks Mr. Scot

[bythenbrs]

11 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Joe Person goes in depth on the process that led to the drafting of Luke Kuechly.

How the Panthers were sold on Luke Kuechly in the 2012 Draft

Articles like this are a big reason why I subscribe to The Athletic. Lots of interesting stuff in here, including a revelation that some guys on the defensive staff were upset they didn't draft Quinton Coples instead.

Excerpts:

Panthers area scout Robert Haines was responsible for checking out prospects in the Northeast for the better part of a decade. In fall 2009, Haines was in a hotel room in a college town — he doesn’t remember exactly where — writing reports before a Saturday night game. But Haines remembers this: He had the noon regional ACC telecast on as background noise while he worked and kept hearing the announcers mentioning the name of a Boston College freshman.

Haines: I’m just sitting there and hearing, “Luke Kuechly on the tackle, Luke Kuechly.” Time after time after time to the point where I stopped and said, “Who the hell is this kid?” Then I turn around and see this No. 40 running around and making plays all over the field. That’s how we got him on the radar and started tracking him from there.

...

Before returning to Carolina as an assistant coach in 2011, former Panthers wideout Ricky Proehl worked as an analyst for Wake Forest and ISP’s ACC game of the week radio broadcasts. In those roles, Proehl called a couple of Kuechly’s games at Boston College, where Kuechly led the nation in tackles twice during his three-year career (he finished second in the country as a freshman). Proehl’s Kuechly experience was similar to Haines’.

Proehl: It was unbelievable. When I was doing the game, it was literally: “Kuechly on the tackle. Kuechly on the tackle. Kuechly on another tackle.” It was like the whole game. It’s like, who the hell is this guy?

...

Rivera, a linebacker for nine seasons with Chicago, met Kuechly briefly at the Nagurski Award dinner in Charlotte in December 2011. Around that time, Rivera got a call from former Bears teammate Jim Morrissey, whose son Mike played at BC and was Kuechly’s roommate for away games.

Rivera: He said, “Hey, if you’re looking for a linebacker, I’ve got your guy. Luke Kuechly.” I said, “OK.” So January comes around. I get my list and start looking at the list. Obviously, I see Luke. So I called Jim Morrissey up and said, “Hey, can I talk to Michael?” He said, “Absolutely.” So I talked to Michael and (he) told me: “Hey, this guy’s the real deal. He’s a good person. You won’t ever have to worry about him. He’s smart. He gets everybody lined up. He knows how to do it.”

...

Because Boston College restricted scouts’ access to underclassmen, the first time the Panthers met Kuechly as a group was in February at their hotel suite at the combine in Indianapolis. Hurney and Rivera led a big contingent that included Haines, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, linebackers coach Warren Belin, defensive backs coach Steve Wilks, scouting director Don Gregory and personnel official Brandon Beane. Kuechly can still recall vivid details from that meeting, right down to what Rivera was wearing.

Kuechly: Ron was super relaxed. I remember he had on either a vest or sweater. It was like an argyle sweater, Panthers’ blue, gray and white. And he was as friendly as ever. It was one of the best meetings I had because I walked in there and it went immediately to football. To me, that was easy to talk about.

...

Haines: I put like a 20-play highlight tape (together) on him, that was playing in the background as Ron and Marty and everybody talked to him. About three plays in, it was a game at Clemson, he reads this screen before the ball’s even snapped, hits the flat and makes a great open-field tackle. I remember Marty turning to us and saying: “Turn the tape off. That’s all I need to see.”

Kuechly: Some of the other (teams) were talking about like: “How fast are you gonna run? What do you weigh?” All that stuff. I don’t know how fast I’m gonna run. But Ron was like: “All right, we’ll just talk football. What is this look? What are you doing on this play?” I was like, “This, this and this.” He was like, “What is this guy doing?” I’m like, “That, that and that.” Then they show you a bad play. It was all football. And to me that was very relaxing, because going into those rooms, I was nervous.

...

Proehl: I’ll never forget the day we drafted him. There were a bunch of guys on the defensive staff who wanted Coples. They’re like, “Who is this small, White linebacker we just (drafted)?” I said: “I’m telling you, this guy’s pretty special. He’s a ball hawk.” It’s so funny to look back now. I laugh. I think about that all the time.

...

Gregory: We didn’t think about any Defensive Rookie of the Year or (Defensive) Player of the Year. We just thought we had a really good football player. And from there, let the chips fall after that.

...

Rivera: I knew he would be good, but I didn’t know he’d be as good as he was. It’s unfortunate the concussion thing came up.

...

McDermott: I kid Luke. We have a good relationship. And so (he would tell him), “Hey, you weren’t our guy, but we just had to take you because you were the only one left.” I can say that when, if I had to do it all over again, I’d take him at 1.

...

Proehl: The guy is everything you want a football player to be. And person. He’s a great football player. He’s even a better person. Anybody who crossed paths with Luke Kuechly, you’re blessed to have known him. We should all be as polite — at least off the field. Because he’s a son of a bitch on the field. I tell everybody he’s a true Clark Kent. He literally comes in with his glasses, khakis and plaid shirt. And then he walks between the lines and he turns into just a straight baller.

This is why I come to the Huddle.  Thank you.

[LinvilleGorge]

17 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I remember Marty turning to us and saying: “Turn the tape off. That’s all I need to see.”

And that was his problem. Snap, emotional judgements. Sure, it worked out great on a few players but it led to a really awful overall batting percentage.

Everyone considered by the NFL has some nice college highlights.

 

[t96]

Luke is the best player to ever play for the Panthers and in my opinion a top 5 all time defensive player league wide. Absolute stud, should be first ballot HoF easy, even with his relatively short career. Thanks for sharing these parts of the article Scot, enjoyed reading it.

[Mr. Scot]

For the curious, the defensive coaching staff that you're consisted of the following:

Defensive Coordinator Sean McDermott
Defensive Line Coach Eric Washington
Assistant Defensive Line Coach Sam Mills III
Linebacker Coach Warren Belin
Defensive Backs Coach Steve Wilks
Defensive assistant Bobby Babich

Washington would strike me as the most likely candidate to prefer Coples over Kuechly, but since Ricky Proehl said it was "a bunch of guys", he wouldn't be the only one.

I suspect Sean McDermott might have been in on that too. Some of his comments just strike me as a little squirrely

[rippadonn]

Would Tom Brady's cloning facility make us another Luke?

Edited April 12, 2022 by rippadonn

[CanadianCat]

Thanks for sharing. 

[thennek]

Great read. I miss watching Luke.

Micah Parsons would have been a very good “Luke” replacement. Would rather  have a “shutdown MLB” vs a #1 corner…. 

[BrianS]

While his career may have been short, I don't know that I've ever seen a better defensive player than Kuechly.  The only one who comes close is Lawrence Taylor.

[LinvilleGorge]

9 minutes ago, thennek said:

Great read. I miss watching Luke.

Micah Parsons would have been a very good “Luke” replacement. Would rather  have a “shutdown MLB” vs a #1 corner…. 

The rest of the NFL strongly disagrees.

 

This is a QB league. Its all about QB, weapons for the QB, protecting the QB, and impacting the QB on D.

[Mr. Scot]

Looking at this...

Kuechly: Ron was super relaxed. I remember he had on either a vest or sweater. It was like an argyle sweater, Panthers’ blue, gray and white. And he was as friendly as ever. It was one of the best meetings I had because I walked in there and it went immediately to football. To me, that was easy to talk about.

With Luke's attention to detail, it wouldn't have surprised me if he'd said "Ron was also wearing grey socks, a blue belt, a couple of rings and what smelled like Axe cologne. There was just a hint of Dial soap too so I'm guessing that's what he used to shower that morning. I remember he looked left when he first entered the room and then chose to sit in the third chair from the right."

[Jesse]

I put my hands up in disbelief that we picked a linebacker in 2012. We had TD and Beason, there was no reason for us to pick Luke how-do-you-pronounce-his-name? We've spent a first rounder 3 times within the last decade. We just got off a rough season, but Cam showed promise winning OROY. Smitty was past his prime and we needed another weapon to help alleviate Smash & Dash. Drew Brees was lighting us and everyone else up that year and we had to keep up surely. Again, how do you pronounce this dude's name?

Man, was I just oblivious that we selected hands down a truly generational player. Luke was and still is a different breed. I may have cried a bit when I was out to dinner and saw across the screen that Luke retired. fug.. Anyways that's my rant.

[LinvilleGorge]

1 minute ago, Jesse said:

I put my hands up in disbelief that we picked a linebacker in 2012. We had TD and Beason, there was no reason for us to pick Luke how-do-you-pronounce-his-name? We've spent a first rounder 3 times within the last decade. We just got off a rough season, but Cam showed promise winning OROY. Smitty was past his prime and we needed another weapon to help alleviate Smash & Dash. Drew Brees was lighting us and everyone else up that year and we had to keep up surely. Again, how do you pronounce this dude's name?

Man, was I just oblivious that we selected hands down a truly generational player. Luke was and still is a different breed. I may have cried a bit when I was out to dinner and saw across the screen that Luke retired. fug.. Anyways that's my rant.

I wanted either Gilmore or Poe and oddly enough they got drafted in the two picks directly following Luke and both ended up playing for the Panthers for brief stints.