Luke Kuechly Luke August Kuechly ( ; born April 20 , 1991 ) is an American football middle linebacker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for Boston College , and was a three - time All - American . He was selected by the Panthers with the 9th overall pick of the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft . Kuechly had an immediate impact his rookie season , as he led the NFL in tackles and won the Associated Press 2012 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award . In his second season , he won the 2013 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award . Early years . Kuechly is of German American descent . He was born in Cincinnati , Ohio and grew up in Evendale , Ohio . He attended St . Xavier High School in Cincinnati , where he played linebacker and safety for head coach Steve Specht . As a junior in 2007 he had 147 tackles , six sacks , two forced fumbles , three fumble recoveries , two interceptions , and a touchdown as a linebacker . He helped his team go 15 - 0 , winning the Division 1 Ohio state title , and finishing at the top of several national polls ( Calpreps . com and Prepnation . com ) as the best high school team in America . As a senior in 2008 he had 130 tackles , a sack , three forced fumble s , two fumble recoveries and an interception . Kuechly was a two - time All Greater Catholic League selection at St . Xavier , gaining first - team honors in 2008 . Regarded as a three - star recruit , Kuechly was listed as the No . 44 outside linebacker prospect in the class of 2009 , which was headed by Jelani Jenkins and Nico Johnson . After official visits to Boston College , Virginia , Duke , and Stanford , Kuechly committed to the Eagles in January 2009 . College career . Kuechly attended Boston College , where he played for the Boston College Eagles football team from 2009 to 2011 . 2009 . As a true freshman in 2009 , Kuechly became the Eagles starting outside linebacker after Mark Herzlich announced that he would miss the season after being diagnosed with Ewing ' s sarcoma , a rare form of cancer . He finished the season with 158 tackles ( 87 solo ) , which led the team and conference , as well as being second nationally ( first among freshmen ) . He was the first true freshman in team history to lead the team in tackles and almost broke the freshman tackle record set by Stephen Boyd in 1991 . He also had a sack and returned an interception for a touchdown . For his play he was named the 2009 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year and was on the 2009 " CFN " All - Freshman Defensive Team . " CFN " went even further and named the true freshman Kuechly to its All - America team . In the Emerald Bowl , Kuechly was named the defensive MVP , registering 16 tackles in a losing effort . 2010 . He moved to middle linebacker at the beginning of his sophomore season . He went on to lead the country with 183 tackles ( 110 solo ) and had an ongoing streak of 21 straight games with at least 10 tackles at the end of the season . Kuechly was named a finalist for the Butkus Award and the Nagurski Award . He broke BC ' s single season record for tackles , topping the previous record of 165 , held since 1991 by Tom McManus . After the season , Kuechly was named a unanimous first - team All - American . He was the first consensus All - American for the Eagles since Jamie Silva in 2007 . Boston College played in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl ( the same bowl as the Emerald Bowl from the previous season with a change of corporate sponsorship ) at the end of the season and Kuechly was named the defensive MVP for a second time . 2011 . Kuechly led the nation with 191 tackles ( 102 solo ) during the season , averaging nearly 16 tackles per game . Kuechly compiled his stats in the 12 - game regular season , as the team finished with a 4 - 8 record and was ineligible for post - season play . He still almost broke the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) single - season tackle record ( 193 , set by Lawrence Flugence in a 14 - game season ) and did break the single season tackles - per - game record with 15 . 9 ( previously held by Rick Sherrod with a 15 . 6 average over a 10 - game season ) . He broke the team and conference single - season tackle records , records that he had set the year before . In only three seasons of play , Kuechly set the BC and ACC career tackle records with 532 tackles , eclipsing the previous record of 524 held by Stephen Boyd and only 13 short of the NCAA FBS record held by Tim McGarigle . On December 4 , Dick Butkus personally presented the 2011 Butkus Award to Kuechly at the Boston College team banquet a week before the expected formal announcement of the recipient . Kuechly went on to win the Lombardi Award , the Lott IMPACT Trophy , and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy , and was recognized as a consensus first - team All - American for the second consecutive year . Professional career . NFL Draft . On January 6 , 2012 , Kuechly announced his intention to forgo his final year of college eligibility and enter the 2012 NFL Draft . At the time of his announcement he was rated the top linebacker available in this draft : Mel Kiper ranked him tenth on his " Big Board " , while Todd McShay ranked him thirteenth in his " Top 32 " . Kuechly quashed any lingering doubts about his athleticism with his performance at the combine , demonstrating rare pass coverage abilities which would allow him to be a " three - down " inside linebacker ( i . e . not subbed - out on obvious passing downs ) which raised his draft stock even further . Kuechly also had the highest score on the Wonderlic Intelligence test among linebackers with 34 . He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round : the first linebacker selected and the 9th overall pick . On May 10 , 2012 , Kuechly signed a 4 - year , $ 12 . 58 million contract . 2012 . Kuechly began the season at outside linebacker instead of middle linebacker ; Coach Ron Rivera decided to start veteran Jon Beason at middle linebacker due to his experience , but had considered starting Kuechly at middle linebacker and shifting Beason to the outside . When Beason was placed on injured reserve due to a torn Achilles tendon , Kuechly was moved to middle linebacker . Due to his strong performance at middle linebacker , Rivera announced that Kuechly would be the team ' s long - term starter at that position even after Beason returns from his injury for the 2013 season . In a 30 - 20 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 14 , Kuechly recorded a career - high 16 tackles and was honored as NFC Defensive Rookie of the Week ; Kuechly received the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month award in December , recording a league - high 59 tackles over the final five games of the season . He became the second Panther after Julius Peppers to receive the award . Kuechly led the league with 164 tackles during the regular season and recorded 8 pass deflections , 1 sack , 2 interceptions , and three fumble recoveries . He was awarded the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and received the Defensive Rookie of the Year award from " Pro Football Weekly " . While not being an official stat kept by the NFL , after tape review , Panthers coaches credited Kuechly with a franchise record 205 tackles , surpassing James Anderson ’ s 174 set in 2011 , and became the first rookie to lead the NFL in that department since Patrick Willis in 2007 . 2013 . Kuechly brought his play to a whole new level in his second year , becoming the leader of a stingy Panthers defense that finished the season as runner - up in points and yards allowed . On Sunday , December 22nd 2013 , Kuechly recorded 24 tackles and 1 interception in a game against the New Orleans Saints , which the Carolina Panthers won and made the 2013 - 2014 playoffs . Kuechly ' s 24 tackles tied the NFL record for most tackles in a game . After film review , the number was increased to 26 , which is 6 tackles more than the previous team record held by James Anderson , and a new NFL single game record . Kuechly was also selected to the 2014 Pro Bowl where he had a team high 12 tackles for Team Sanders . Kuechly was named to the 2013 All - Pro Team and recognized as the NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press .