How Notre Dame football ‘left behind’ Luke Kuechly in recruiting
Imagine a Notre Dame linebacking corps headlined by Manti Te’o and Luke Kuechly. If Kuechly, a Cincinnati St. Xavier product (2009), had it his way, that’d have been reality.
“Obviously in Cincinnati, Notre Dame is everywhere,” Kuechly said on the Inside The Garage podcast. “So I was like, ‘Man, I might have a good chance to go to Notre Dame.'”
Or so he thought.
Kuechly remembers Irish coaches, then on a staff led by soon-to-be fired head coach Charlie Weis, visiting his high school quite often. St. Xavier is a powerful, championship-winning program that has put plenty of players in the NFL. And first, the Division I collegiate ranks. Notre Dame’s own Rocky Boiman graduated from St. Xavier in 1998.
The Irish plucked quarterback/wide receiver Luke Massa from St. Xavier in the class after Kuechly’s. But an Irish offer never went Kuechly’s way. He went to Boston College and finished his college career with 532 total tackles, the second most in FBS history. He needed just three seasons to reach that number before he left school early and to be selected ninth overall by the Carolina Panthers in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Kuechly was just a three-star recruit. Per the On3 Consensus Ratings, he was the No. 545 overall player and the No. 69 linebacker in his class. Weis and his staff obviously had no idea they were missing out on a future NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2013) and a five-time First-Team All-Pro player.
But what could have been for Kuechly in South Bend, Ind., had they known.
“I was the guy left behind by Notre Dame,” Kuechly told the ITG podcast hosts in jest. “You guys didn’t want me.”
Kuechly recalls games against Notre Dame
Kuechly played against the Irish three times while at Boston College. His team lost all three games.
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Kuechely recorded the same stat line in each of the games: 14 tackles and one tackle for loss. Notre Dame won 20-16 in 2009 and 16-14 in 2011. Kuechly came close to being the difference in those two defensive battles, but the Irish won 31-13 in 2010.
“It was tough, that’s all I’ll say,” Kuechly said.
For the entirety of Kuechly’s career at Boston College, the Irish were just better — even at the tail end of the Weis era and the first two years of Brian Kelly‘s tenure. Spurned by the program in recruiting, Kuechly still respected its high standing in the college football landscape.
“You guys have a special place,” Kuechly said. “Say what you want about the BC-Notre Dame rivalry — playing at Notre Dame is cool. It’s a historic place to play a college football game.
“We played back when it was grass, and I love playing football on grass fields. It reminded me of playing football at home on the old midwest grass fields. I grew up watching Notre Dame. My grandpa was a huge Notre Dame fan.”
Notre Dame has beaten Boston College seven straight times. The Eagles look to snap the streak Nov. 19 at Notre Dame Stadium in the return of former Irish quarterback Phil Jurkovec, tight end George Takacs and former Irish tight ends coach and current Boston College offensive coordinator John McNulty to South Bend.
