Kuechly leads Boston College defense against Duke

When the Blue Devils face off against Boston College Saturday, junior linebacker Luke Kuechly will be in the forefront of their minds. In 2010, Kuechly led the nation with a total of 183 tackles, including 110 solo tackles. Despite his success last year, when he finished as a runner-up for the Butkus Award, an honor given to the nation’s outstanding linebacker, Keuchly put on 10 pounds over the summer while maintaining his speed. In the 2011 preseason, Kuechly’s name graced the watch lists for collegiate football’s most prestigious honors, including National Defensive Impact Player of the Year, National Defensive Player of the Year, Top Defensive Player of the Year, and Lineman of the Year. Notably, Kuechly finds himself on the watch list for the Butkus Award once again.

But all of the attention surrounding Kuechly isn’t just preseason hype. In the first week of the 2011 season, Kuechly was selected as the ACC linebacker of the week for the eighth time based on his performance in the Eagles’ game against Northwestern, in which he recorded 18 tackles and an interception. The Northwestern game also marks the 23rd straight game in which Kuechly recorded ten or more tackles—and Kuechly racked up another ten tackles when Boston College faced the UCF Knights on September 10th.

Last season, Keuchly recorded 21 tackles, including nine solo, in the Eagles’ 21-16 victory over Duke.