BC's Kuechly declares for NFL Draft

CHESTNUT HILL -- Two-time All-American Luke Kuechly will forego his senior year at Boston College and declare for April's NFL Draft, Kuechly announced in a Friday night conference call. 

"It's something I've wanted to do since I started playing for me," the linebacker said in his announcement. "It's right there for me."

Kuechly, a 20-year-old native of Cincinnati, took over for Mark Herzlich as a true freshman, when Herzlich was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2009. Herzlich had to sit out the season for chemotherapy. Kuechly moved to outside linebacker, taking Herzlich's place, and his career took off from there. 

Kuechly finished the season with a team-leading 158 tackles (87 solo). He also had a sack and returned an interception for a touchdown. He was named the 2009 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. In the Emerald Bowl, Kuechly was named the defensive MVP, registering 16 tackles in a losing effort. Now, he is projected as a potential first-round pick as a linebacker. 

"It's one of those things that's out of my control right," Kuechly said of his possible draft position. "All I can do is work out and prepare for what's ahead of me."

After earning a consensus spot on the All-American team in 2010 as a sophomore, Kuechly had one of the greatest defensive seasons in school history for a BC team that finished just 4-8 in 2011. Kuechly led the nation with an amazing 191 tackles (102 solo), averaging nearly 16 tackles per game. Kuechly broke the BC and ACC career tackle records with 532 tackles.

He also broke the BC and ACC single-season tackle records, records that he had set the year before. On Dec. 4, Dick Butkus personally presented the 2011 Butkus Award to Kuechly at the Boston College team banquet a week before the expected formal announcement of the recipient. Kuechly went on to win the Lombardi Award, the Lott IMPACT Trophy, and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for 2011.

Kuechly said he spoke with his family before making the decision final on Friday night.

"This is the first step in the process," he said. "After today, I'll sit down with my family and figure out the next step." 

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 237 pounds, Kuechly might face a positional change from the middle inside linebacker position he played at BC.

"I just want to play, wherever that is, I just want to play," Kuechly said. 

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