Luke August Kuechly ( /ˈkikli/, German pronunciation: [ˈkʏçlɪ]; born April 20, 1991) is an American football linebacker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Boston College, and was a three-time All-American. He was selected by the Panthers with the 9th overall pick of the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Early years[link]

Kuechly was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, where he was rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com.^[1] As a senior in 2008 he had 130 tackles, a sack, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception as a safety. As a junior in 2007 he had 147 tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, and a touchdown as a linebacker. He helped his team go 15-0 and win the Division 1 state title in 2007. Kuechly was a two-time All Greater Catholic League selection at St. Xavier, gaining first-team honors in 2008.^[2]

College career[link]

Kuechly attended Boston College, where he played for the Boston College Eagles football team from 2009 to 2011.

2009[link]

As a true freshman in 2009, Kuechly became the Eagles starting outside linebacker after Mark Herzlich announced that he would miss the season after being diagnosed with the rare form of cancer, Ewing's sarcoma.^[3] He finished the season with 158 tackles (87 solo), which led the team and conference, as well as being second nationally (first among freshmen).^[4] He was the first true freshman in team history to lead the team in tackles and almost broke the freshman tackle record set by Stephen Boyd in 1991.^[3] He also had a sack and returned an interception for a touchdown.^[5] For his play he was named the 2009 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, was on the 2009 CFN All-Freshman Defensive Team.^[6][7] CFN went even further and named Kuechly to its All-America team.^[8] In the Emerald Bowl, Kuechly was named the defensive MVP, registering 16 tackles in a losing effort.

2010[link]

He moved to middle linebacker at the beginning of his sophomore season. He went on to lead the country with 183 tackles (110 solo) and has an ongoing streak of 21 straight games with at least 10 tackles.^[9] Kuechly was named a finalist for the Butkus Award and the Nagurski Award. He broke BC's single season record for tackles, topping the previous record of 165, held since 1991 by Tom McManus. After the season, Kuechly was named a unanimous consensus All-America selection. He was the first consensus All-American for the Eagles since Mike Cloud in 1998.^[10] Boston College played in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (the same bowl as the Emerald Bowl from the previous season with a change of corporate sponsorship) at the end of the season and Kuechly was named the defensive MVP for a second time.

2011[link]

Kuechly led the nation with an astounding 191 tackles (102 solo) during the season, averaging nearly 16 tackles per game.^[11] Kuechly compiled his stats in the 12-game regular season, as the team finished with a 4-8 record and was ineligible for post-season play. He still almost broke the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) single-season tackle record (193, set by Lawrence Flugence in a 14-game season) and did break the single season tackles-per-game record with 15.9 (previously held by Rick Sherrod with a 15.6 average over a 10-game season).^[12]

Kuechly broke the BC and ACC career tackle records with 532 tackles, eclipsing the previous record of 524 held by Stephen Boyd and only 13 tackles short of the NCAA FBS record held by Tim McGarigle.^[12] He also broke the BC and ACC single-season tackle records, records that he had set the year before. On December 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.^[13] Kuechly went on to win the Lombardi Award, the Lott IMPACT Trophy, and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American for the second consecutive year.

Professional career[link]

2012 NFL Draft[link]

On January 6, 2012, Kuechly announced his intention to forgo his final year of college eligibility and enter the 2012 NFL Draft. At the time of his announcement he was rated the top linebacker available in this draft: Mel Kiper ranked him tenth on his "Big Board", while Todd McShay ranked him thirteenth in his "Top 32".^[14] Kuechly quashed any lingering doubts about his athleticism with his performance at the combine, demonstrating rare pass coverage abilities which would allow him to be a "three-down" inside linebacker (ie. not subbed-out on obvious passing downs) which raised his draft stock even further.^[15].

He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round: the first linebacker selected and the 9th overall pick. On May 10, 2012, Kuechly signed a 4-year, $12.58 million contract. On the first day of rookie minicamp, head coach Ron Rivera announced that they will begin with Kuechly playing weakside linebacker, and will eventually begin to rotate him into the middle.^[16]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Carolina Panthers bio
• Boston College Eagles bio

Roddy White

White in November 2008
No. 84     Atlanta Falcons
Wide Receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: (1981-11-02) November 2, 1981 (age 30)
Place of birth: James Island, South Carolina
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 211 lb (96 kg)
Career information
College: UAB
NFL Draft: 2005 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27
Debuted in 2005 for the Atlanta Falcons
Career history
Atlanta Falcons (2005–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
4× Pro Bowl (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) All-Pro (2010) NFC Receiving Yards Leader (2010) NFL Alumni Wide Receiver of the Year (2010)[1] NFC Offensive Player of the Month (October 2010)[2] Falcons' Single Season Record - Receiving yards (1,389 in 2010) Falcons' Post Season record- Receptions in a game (11) Falcons' Single Game record- Receiving yards in a half (185) and Receiving yards in a game (210) Led the NFL in catches (115 in 2011)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011
Receiving Yards 7,374 Receptions 530 Receiving TDs 45 Stats at NFL.com

Sharod "Roddy" Lamor White (born November 2, 1981) is an American football wide receiver playing for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League. He was selected with the 27th pick overall in the 2005 NFL Draft out of UAB.

Early years[link]

White attended James Island Charter High School in James Island, South Carolina, and was a four-sport letterman and standout in football, baseball, soccer, and wrestling. In football, he was a two-time All-Low Country honoree, a two-time All-State honoree, and was also listed as one of the top receivers in the nation on Rivals.com. In wrestling, he was a two-time state champion often pinning his opponent in a move that was coined the "Shanaz". White attended University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where he was a standout wide receiver. In 2004, White helped UAB to its first and to date, only bowl game. In the 2004 Hawaii Bowl, White caught six passes for 113 yards and a touchdown in a 59-40 defeat of the Blazers by Hawaii.

Professional career[link]

Atlanta Falcons[link]

White saw instantaneous action in his rookie campaign. He ranked fourth among all rookie receivers in 2005. Although a high ankle sprain caused him to remain on the sidelines for much of the preseason, he recovered by Week 2 of the 2005 season and was put on the team's roster. In Week 4 of the 2005 season, against the Minnesota Vikings, he was inserted in the lineup as the No. 3 receiver. During the course of the game he racked up 64 yards on 5 catches. However, during the rest of the season, his performance was spotty at best. He made a fantastic leaping catch over three defenders on a trick play against the New Orleans Saints during Week 14 for a 54-yd touchdown, but dropped a touchdown catch the next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, although he had a 108-yard receiving performance vs. Tampa Bay (11/20) which was the second-highest receiving total put up by a rookie wide receiver in 2005, only surpassed by Jaguars WR Matt Jones (117 yards vs. Baltimore).

In the Falcons 2007 game against the New Orleans Saints, White showed his support for fellow Falcon Michael Vick by wearing a t-shirt that said "Free Mike Vick" and pulling up his jersey after scoring a touchdown. Earlier that day, Vick was sentenced to 23 months in jail on dogfighting charges.^[3] White was fined $10,000 by the league for his actions.^[4]

Roddy White became the first Falcon WR since 1999 to reach 1,000 single season receiving yards on December 23, 2007. He also finished tied for 8th among all NFL wide receivers in receiving yards in 2007 with 1,202 yards. He had 6 receiving touchdowns.

Roddy White's 2008 performance was even better than the previous year, finishing 4th in the NFL in receiving yards (3rd in the NFC). He finished the year with 1,382 receiving yards (career high and team record), 88 receptions (career high), and 7 touchdowns (career high). He broke Alfred Jenkins team record of 1,358 receiving yards, which stood since 1981.

After his Week 14 performance in the team's 29–25 loss to the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome, ESPN personality Chris Berman (while reporting the highlights of the game on SportsCenter) gave White the nickname "Rowdy" Roddy White, named after professional wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Roddy White caught a touchdown pass in the playoffs game against the Arizona Cardinals, who defeated the Falcons.

On December 16, 2008, White was named to the 2009 Pro Bowl along with fellow Falcons RB Michael Turner.^[5][6]

Roddy White had 1 catch for 26 yards and 1 rush for 7 yards in the 2009 Pro Bowl.

On July 31, 2009, White began a holdout, boycotting the 2009 training camp in an attempt at an early contract extension. On August 8 he signed a six-year, $48 million contract extension with $18.6 million guaranteed and $28 million dollars over the first three years of the deal. The extension makes him the 5th highest paid wide receiver in the league, behind Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald, Carolina's Steve Smith, Chicago's Brandon Marshall, and Houston's Andre Johnson.^[7]

On October 11, 2009 White became the all time receiving leader in yards in one game in Franchise history in a game against the 49ers. In this game White had 8 receptions for 210 yards, a career-high with a 90 yard touchdown catch and 2 touchdowns.

He finished the 2009 season with 85 receptions 1,153 yards and a career high 11 touchdowns. He became only the second Falcon player to record three straight 1,000 yard seasons. On January 26, 2010, Roddy White was selected to his 2nd Consecutive Pro Bowl.

Roddy White led the 2010 Pro Bowl in catches with 8 for 84 yards.

In the first game of the 2010 season, Roddy White had a career-high 13 receptions.

Through 16 games in 2010 Roddy White leads the NFL in receptions with 115 and the NFC in receiving yards with 1,389. He also has 10 touchdowns for the year.

He led the NFC Pro Bowl team with 69 yards.

Roddy White has more yards (5,158) than any other receiver in the league since 2007.

On January 11, 2012 White was added to the NFC Pro Bowl Roster replacing Lions WR Calvin Johnson due to sore Achilles.^[8]

Personal life[link]

White had developed a tendency for partying during the early part of his career. His mother actually had to steal his credit cards from him after she found out that he was almost bankrupt less than a year after signing his rookie contract worth over $7 million.

White is the father of three children and currently resides in Braselton, Georgia.^[9]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Atlanta Falcons Bio