Luke Kuechly thrives in Super Bowl spotlight
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Luke Kuechly grew up a normal kid on the outer edges of Cincinnati. A kid who was one of three brothers who started playing football in fourth grade, watched the Bengals, loved running back Rudi Johnson and worked his way through St. Xavier High School packing a humble heart and grounded family.
A normal kid with a fear of heights and love for rafting. A kid with a taste for Italian food and penchant for wire-rimmed glasses. A kid with a nickname Captain America who can seemingly do everything except grow a beard.
Over the past few years, the kid evolved into The Man for the Carolina Panthers. On Sunday at Levi’s Stadium with the entire world watching, he’ll thrust into the brightest of spotlights and be counted on to win a chess match with one of the most intelligent players in NFL history to earn his team the most sought prize in the sport.
Super Bowl 50 matchup: Broncos QB Peyton Manning vs. Panthers LB Luke Kuechly
In Super Bowl 50, the pride of Cincinnati goes global. In these moments, as Kuechly reaches the pinnacle of his profession for what he hopes to be the first of many times in his career, it’s hard not to think back to all those who assisted along the way.
“You always start somewhere,” Kuechly said. “For me it was Golden Bears football. Our coach was Kevin Harris. We won the city championship, that was awesome. Coach Steve Specht was our guy at St. Xavier and those guys all helped me out big time just teaching you how to play football. Specht was good on helping you grow as a man. He wanted to know what you did on the field, but off the field was the most important thing for him.”
St. X's Kuechly: Cincinnati's captain
The foundation of those days serve as much as Kuechly’s defining storyline coming out of the Super Bowl 50 media crush as his role as the centerpiece of the Carolina defense.
He already arrives at only 24 years old as an All-World linebacker. The 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year led the league in tackles in 2012 and 2014. He likely would have competed for a third tackling title if not for missing three games due to a concussion this season. Kuechly became the first player in NFL history to pull off pick-sixes in consecutive postseason games this year.
In four seasons, he already lives in rarified air in the eyes of his head coach.
“I’ve been very fortunate,” said Ron Rivera, Panthers head coach and member of the legendary 1985 Bears defense. “I’ve played the position, I played with some Hall of Famers and coached some really good guys that have a chance to be Hall of Famers, Luke fits right into that category of guys,” Rivera said. "It all stems from the way he started playing football to the way he plays it today. His preparation is tremendous. His commitment to being prepared is tremendous.”
As Kuechly arrived in the Super Bowl spotlight this week and such praise for him bellowed out of so many microphones around media availabilities, nearly every one of the thousands of media members from across the world wanted a piece.
A reporter from Germany wants to know about his experience with the country, and Kuechly obliges with a polite anecdote about a trip there with his family in high school.
He is asked by a Japanese reporter if he can give him a hug if the Panthers win the Super Bowl. Kuechly obviously agrees.
With a crowd ballooned around him during Monday’s Opening Night circus at the SAP Center, a little kid who patiently waited for Kuechly’s attention awaits an opportunity to sneak his question in. Luke throws his hands to the air to stop all others yelling at his podium and points to the young boy in front.
He offers shout outs to military members watching overseas and Panthers fans back in Carolina. He provides an impression of teammate Thomas Davis, joking about how he flexes his fingers when he yells.
Whether during the opening minutes of Monday’s wild media night - or the final answer of a week’s worth of exhausting media obligations on Thursday - a smile almost never left his face.
“You got to enjoy this,” he said. “It’s something we don’t get every week. This is something that’s special.”
Funny, his teammates say the same thing about him. Along with quarterback and MVP Cam Newton, this energy fuels the chemistry and camaraderie that landed Carolina in Sunday’s showcase.
So much of his rise since leaving the shadows of St. Xavier for Boston College and now the NFL are due to those formative years. And it’s what so many spent this week talking about as the world gets to know the kid from Cincinnati.
“Steve Specht, one of his biggest emphasis is be a good person,” Kuechly said. “Regardless of what you are doing, if you are winning or if you are losing, at school or in the community, be a good dude.”