Draft Diary: Boston College LB Luke Kuechly
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Draft Diary: Boston College LB Luke Kuechly
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
About this series: Over the next two months, I'll be chatting weekly with Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly and chronicling his preparation for April's NFL draft. This is the first installment.
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On Friday, January 6, Luke Kuechly announced from his hometown of Cincinnati that he would forgo his senior year at Boston College and enter the NFL draft.
Three days later, he was in front of a TV in Bradenton, Fla., watching the BCS title game and preparing for seven weeks of training, leading up to the combine in Indianapolis.
Kuechly, considered among the top inside linebacker prospects in the draft and a first-round prospect, called on other Boston College products like Mark Herzlich, Anthony Castonzo, Jamie Silva and Alex Albright when weighing his decision to turn pro.
"Everyone said, 'You’ve got to do what’s right for you,'" Kuechly said. "'You’ll know what the right decision is, what makes you happy.'"
And so he decided it was time to take the final steps in pursuing a dream that was rooted in his first days on the football field as a fourth grader.
The process has now moved to IMG Academy in Florida, where Kuechly and 29 other prospects like Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson and Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill spend their days training.
The techniques are different than what Kuechly was used to. At Boston College, training always carried with it a football focus, the idea being preparation leading to results on Saturdays.
But now, the focus is on the combine. Yes, there are football-specific drills. But the combine presents a specific set of predictable tests. With the right preparation, prospects will be ready for exactly what's thrown at them. From an athletic standpoint, that means Kuechly's working on his 40 time, plyometrics, stretching, footwork, making sure he maximizes his explosiveness.
From an off-the-field perspective, it means getting ready for the Wonderlic test and making sure he interviews well with coaches, general managers, scouts and personnel men.
Whichever team drafts Kuechly in April will do so based on the merits of his tape. For evaluators, tape is another word for production. Teams looking at Kuechly will see the nation's leading tackler in each of the past two seasons, averaging 15.92 tackles per game in 2011.
They'll see the winner of the Nagurski Award, given to the nation’s top defensive player. And the winner of the Butkus Award, given to the nation's top linebacker.
While Kuechly's production on the field has gotten him to this point, he realizes the combine is just part of the draft process.
"Size and speed," he answered, when asked what NFL teams are most likely to zero in on. "Those are the questions circling around. How big am I and how fast am I going to run."
The first question can already be answered. Kuechly said he's 6-2 and currently weighs around 241 or 242. He expects to be at 240 at the combine. The second question will be answered in Indy.
As for draft projections, ESPN's Mel Kiper has Kuechly rated as his top linebacker and 10th-best prospect, praising him for his instincts and his ability to shed blocks. He has the Eagles picking Kuechly at No. 15 in the first round, although a lot can change in terms of team needs with free agency in March.
ESPN's Todd McShay also has Kuechly as his top-rated linebacker and 10th-best prospect overall.
And NFL.com's Mike Mayock has Kuechly as his second-best linebacker, behind only Alabama's Courtney Upshaw, who projects as a 3-4 outside linebacker.
Kuechly has seen and heard some of the scouting reports? But does he agree with them?
"A lot of them say I play instinctively," Kuechly said. "That’s true the more I think about it. I just let myself go out there and play."
And the weaknesses?
"I've got to do a better job in general of playing in coverage," he said. "I have a lot to work on. It's a faster game. You've got to adapt with what comes your way."
The success of tight ends like Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham and Vernon Davis is not lost on Kuechly, who realizes the importance of playing in coverage, along with stopping the run.
When asked which linebacker he most admires, Kuechly didn't hesitate.
"My favorite player for awhile has been Ray Lewis," Kuechly said, explaining that he watched Lewis and the Ravens face his hometown Bengals growing up. "His passion for the game is the number one thing. He loves playing football, and that's helped him be great."
Lewis was the 26th pick in 1996. Kuechly figures to go higher, but with the draft still 12 weeks away, there are several steps to take before finding out where he'll begin his NFL career.
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bama - alas too true. Reid and Co. seem to be intent on demonstrating that they're more clever and resourceful than the rest of the league when it comes to the draft.
Obviously, that is delusional.
On the other hand, Belichick and the Pats ARE more clever and resourceful in the draft ... and look where its got them ...— FishFryFrank- And PLEASE - enough of the racially tinged, mindless observations. Think the Cowboys are not happy with Sean Lee??
A good football player is a good football player. PERIOD.— FishFryFrank - Thank You — bearsfriend
- He would be a major improvement over what we have at line backer now. Bama's draft list is pretty horrifying btw.— Per Head
- Luke Kuechly = Mike Mamula the 2nd, just like Brandon Graham is Jerome McDougle the 2nd minus the gunshot wound— eaglessuck@life
- And you've seen Kuechly play how many times? — bearsfriend
- Please no Kuechly, not a racial thing, just to much of the same thing with me. Big, strong nasty, and can crash the line- get off blocks and make the tackle. This is not kuechly's game. Upshaw, Hightower or Burfict. I think the Eagles like Upshaw. They interviewed himat the senior bowl, he was a leader on the Alabama defense (Howie Roseman criteria)and he's multidimensional. He can be used to rush from the line and play outside at the SAM and at the Mike. I'm sure Washburn and Juan likes him. The Eagles just need to break with their ridiculous tradition and draft a LB with the first pick— Eaglehaslanded
- Okay, so no one in football has ever said or believes that Upshaw can play the Middle Linebacker spot(Mike) in the NFL. In fact, most have him as a LB only in a 3-4 since he will basically be the stand-up PassRusher/SAM. Going further, he is basically a small DE with ahigh motor(how's this not "more of the same"?). For your education, the Eagles run a 4-3 so Upshaw would be like drafting Brandon Graham or Mike Mamula(sorry other guy but Mamula was DE who played rush LB in college, Kuechly is a middle LB so there is no comparison to make). You are still learning the game, keep going, you'll get it at some point.
— UncleStosh - Courtney Upshaw is a fabulous football player who at the Senior Bowl pracices beat handily the best left tackles that were in attendance...like a drum. What that did (Mike Mayock was adamant as well) was it showed that the projection to being a 3-4 OLB (although the comparisons to James Harrison and Lamont Woodley are good) might be premature...The Eagles may like Upshaw for him as a right defensive end...Makes it interesting as Trent Cole is not yet ancient (but he does wear down in the second half consistently)...Then again,maybe Howie just wanted an autograph from Upshaw. — bearsfriend
- @Soulman - Your cliche is often true but somehow you don't actually understand it. According to 90% of draft boards, Kuechly is no lower than number 12 on the "big board". That is not them trying to guess where he is going to be drafted but is the "most talented " player board you refer to. So if he is rated no lower than the top 12 talent available in the entire draft and the Eagles are picking 15th, if he is available, under the philosphy of the cliche you wrote, the Eagles should pick Kuechly(most talented player available or a guy being drafed in a slot lower than his talent score.(i.e. the 10th most talented player being drafted at 15) So what was your point? Also, most people believe that Tulloch will be re-signed by Detroit. Plus the Eagles need to sign Maclin, McCoy and possibly D-Jax so would losing two of those guys and gaining Tulloch make sense? As for Burfict, I have seen the highlights and he is intriguing but a longer, more detailed look at his tape is disturbing. Teams are not nearly as scared of his off-the-field discipline as they are his on-field-discipline. He is all over the place on the field, blowing assignments, overcommitting, and emotionally charged in a negative way. Yeah, he jumps over the line to make a tackle in his tube video but he also does that on other occasions while the other team was running for big yards outside the tackles, he also gets credit for chasing plays down from behind when the only reason he is coming from behind is because he was out of position to start. This type of player has not fared well in the NFL as it is a deep ingrained personality flaw(undisciplined, that can't just be taught. Some guys get it and some never do, roll the dice.) Burfict is definitely a late 1st round to middle second player.Kuechly is not Casey Matthews who most draft guys had as a 5th round talent so let's not exxagerate. He isn't top ten based on making tackles 5 yards down the field, sorry.— UncleStosh
- Free Agency for the MLB position and then grow that position with the draft. I see Steard Bradley all over again if we draft him. Tullock anyone?— usedtobefromphilly
- Reid will NEVER draft a linebacker in the first round because that will prove he made a mistake last year, and Reid never makes mistakes because he's a genius. Besides, if you look at all of his drafts, they're either o-line or d-line players. Maclin was a rarity.— ej610
- Didn't MAMULA come from BC???????????????? Not again, go after the beast of a LB from Arizona!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— IvanDejesus
- Why don't we just go get a beast from the WWF?...Please stick to getting traded for Larry Bowa..your football knowledge is lacking. — bearsfriend
- My fear [along with the cast of characters doing the drafting] is that the Eagles will allow Cullen Jenkins to walk thereby "creating" the need to draft another DT to take his place. Good bye Kuech, hello second tier LB. I really hope they don't do something REALLY stupid like wasting a 2nd round pick in a trade to move up one space in the 1st or something along that line. They have enough ammo this year to draft some impact players by just sitting and let the players fall to them...which brings me back to that cast of characters. Lord I have ZERO faith in them to do the right thing.— tpizza
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