50 greatest college football players this century, ranked

• Bronko Nagurski Award (2011)
• Butkus Award (2011)
• Ronnie Lott Trophy (2011)
• Lombardi Award (2011)
• 2x Consensus All-American (2010, 2011)
• ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2011)
• 3x First-team All-ACC (2009, 2010, 2011)

Luke Kuechly was only a three-star prospect as an outside linebacker when he committed to Boston College in 2009. As a true freshman, he was immediately thrust into the starting lineup when Mark Herzlich was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma before the start of the season. Kuechly recorded a meager 158 tackles to lead the entire ACC and he even managed to return an interception for a touchdown when he wasn’t tackling everything not nailed to the ground.

He upped the ante as a sophomore and led not only the conference but all of college football with 183 tackles. He made 191 stops as a junior, eclipsing the ACC record he’d set the previous season. His 532 career tackles set both the Boston College and ACC career records and left him just 13 shy of the NCAA record. He was chosen as a consensus All-American for the second time in 2011 and also took home the Bronko Nagurski Award, Butkus Award, Lott Trophy, Lombardi Award and ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Luke Kuechly had 15 or more tackles in 15 games, 20 or more in four games, and he recorded a career-high 23 (17 solo) against Duke in 2011. He finished his career with 35.5 tackles behind the line and seven interceptions as well, two of which he returned for touchdowns.

Bonus Stat: Kuechly recorded 33 straight games with double-digit tackles and he averaged 15.9 tackles per game as a junior.