Luke Kuechly: Must see highlights

Luke Kuechly is turning 25 years old today.

If that sounds a little too good to be true, it’s probably because Luke Kuechly has accomplished so much with the Carolina Panthers at such a young age.

Since coming into the NFL in the first round of the 2012 draft, Kuechly has been one of, if not the best inside linebackers in the game.

In his rookie season, Kuechly put up a remarkable 164 combined tackles to go with a sack, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. He was named the league’s defensive rookie of the year for his trouble.

Kuechly followed that up with an even more impressive 2013 campaign. He doubled his interception total and still tallied 156 combined tackles. This time around he won the league’s defensive player of the year award.

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In 2014 Luke Kuechly once again broke the 150 tackle mark and had a career high three sacks. He missed out on the defensive MVP award, which rightly went to Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. However, Kuechly was named first team All-Pro.

Last season Kuechly hit his first real challenge in the NFL. A concussion suffered Week 1 sidelined him for one month and some worried that he may not be the same player once he returned to the field. Those doubts were dashed right away when Kuechly came back to the Panthers and he finished with another very strong campaign.

Today we pay homage to the full-fledged superstar that Luke Kuechly has become in just a few short years.

Here is a highlight reel that shows all the best plays from the birthday boy’s 2015 season:

Despite playing in 13 games, Kuechly still managed 118 combined tackles, four interceptions and a defensive touchdown. Pro Football Focus wound up ranking him the number one middle linebacker in the NFL.

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Here’s to many more years of excellence ahead.