Super Bowl 50: Best college player from each Power Five conference
By Dustin Hull
ACC: Luke Kuechly, LB—Boston College
This was the first hard choice of this list. I had to pass over not only Georgia Tech’s Demaryius Thomas but also x-factor tight end Greg Olsen from Miami.
But Kuechly was more than worth the selection here. After making the consensus All-American team two times in college, the Carolina Panthers selected him ninth overall in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Only a three-star recruit out of St. Xavier High School in Ohio, Kuechly wasn’t highly-touted when he joined the Boston College team, but the Eagles were certainly happy about having him. And boy, did their recruiting payoff, even when Kuechly was thrust into the ACC spotlight as a freshman starter.
He was the conference’s rookie of the year, who also led the team in tackles, and he’d only get better from there with the two All-American selections and being crowned the ACC Athlete of the Year.
As far as his NFL career has gone, Kuechly has continued to amaze since his time at Boston College, as he became the second player to win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards in successful years. He’s been a perennial All-Pro and is the key to Carolina’s success on defense.
Next: Big Ten