David Newton, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Luke Kuechly personifies what Panthers want in draft prospects

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Luke Kuechly doesn’t like voluntary offseason workouts. He loves them. He loves them because the rest of his Carolina Panthers teammates finally are at Bank of America Stadium working out as he’s been doing almost every single day since the 2014 NFL season ended.

“This is like the first day back to school," the middle linebacker said on Monday when the team began organized team activities (OTAs). “Get to see all your buddies, all the new guys.’’

His words were genuine to the point of goofy. His smile was more like most have for the last day of school than the first. The only thing that might have made this more fun was a quarterback to tackle.

“I was excited to wake up and come in because I got to see everybody,’’ Kuechly said.

If general manager Dave Gettleman were to describe the attributes of the perfect player he wants in the upcoming draft regardless of position, Kuechly would exemplify those traits.

  1. Kuechly has character.

  2. Kuechly is productive.

  3. Kuechly eats the right food, takes care of his body and gets plenty of sleep.

  4. Kuechly is a student of the game.

  5. Kuechly arrived in the NFL mentally prepared to handle the game.

  6. Kuechly believes football is a 12-month commitment.

As Gettleman likes to say, Kuechly doesn’t play professional football. He is a professional football player.

Ask Kuechly about Carolina deciding to pick up his fifth-year option and the prospect of getting a long-term deal and you fully understand what he’s about.

“I’m excited to be here,” Kuechly said. “I think you guys know that by now. And that stuff will take care of itself, and I’m just here to run around and play football.”

Kuechly has run around and played football better than most since the Panthers made him the ninth pick of the 2012 draft. He has gone from NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year to 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year to a two-time Pro Bowl selection.

No player has more tackles the past three seasons than his 473.

Last year, Kuechly said he wanted to improve his pass coverage. He did, but he wants to take it to another level. He’s focused this offseason on using his hands better to get on and off blockers better.

If you can’t play with your hands, Kuechly said, “you can’t play.’’

Kuechly isn’t just athletic, he’s smart. But Kuechly doesn’t want to be considered simply football smart. He wants to be considered smart in all aspects. That’s why he spent the offseason taking a couple of online course to complete his degree in marketing at Boston College.

Barring a setback, he’ll be done in a few weeks. Kuechly rarely if ever has setbacks.

But Kuechly isn’t into marketing himself. His idea of marketing himself is to run around and play football.

He’d do that 24/7 for 12 months if he could.

And he’s only 24. He turned that on Monday.

Asked how it felt, he smiled and said, “It’s new. Just turned it.’’

There was nothing new about what Kuechly did next. He went back to work out, study more film and hang out with his teammates.

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