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BC set to retire Luke Kuechly’s number

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Luke Kuechly was a three-time All-American and a Butkus Award winner at BC.John Tlumacki/Boston Globe

The nostalgia hit Luke Kuechly as soon as he stepped onto the Boston College campus again. As he walked through the quad, he remembered all the times he rushed to class. He walked through the lower campus past the dining halls, noticed that Edmonds Hall was gone and thought about all the time he used to spend there.

He remembered the summer workouts at Alumni Stadium and the moments he'd look up while running sprints and see the retired numbers of BC greats Doug Flutie and Mike Ruth against the facade.

"You always thought that one day maybe you could be up there on that wall with those guys," Kuechly said.

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Since he left BC after his junior season in 2011, having put together the most storied career of any defensive player in program history, Kuechly has become one of the most fearsome linebackers in the NFL, anchoring a Carolina Panthers defense that reached the Super Bowl last season.

But everything he accomplished at BC — leading the nation in tackles two straight years, winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Dick Butkus Award, the Jack Lambert Award, the Rotary Lombardi Award, and the Lott Trophy — made him a perfect fit to join Flutie and Ruth on the wall of great BC players.

Kuechly left permanent fingerprints on the Eagles' football program. For that he will be immortalized Saturday, when BC will retire his No. 40 during halftime of its game against Syracuse.

"I'm very honored to have the opportunity to be up there with these guys," Kuechly said. "And I want to say thank you to BC as a football organization as well as a school for giving me the opportunity to not only come to school here, but to play here. This is a special place for me, and it's a great honor."

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Kuechly will be the 11th player in program history to have his number retired. Former quarterback Matt Ryan will be honored next month.

Looking back 18 years ago to when his number was honored, Flutie remembered the feeling of pride not only in himself but in a program he helped earn national acclaim.

"Your number's up there and all the players that come through here look up and see it, you take a lot of pride in that," Flutie said. "The pride of putting your mark on a program or having your name affiliated with a program to let it live on a little bit."

Flutie was in the stands for many of Kuechly's games at BC, and he knew then that he was watching a special player.

"I have so many memories every time I'm back on campus — I'm back on campus a lot — and it's exciting for me to be able to get back for a game, but to be able to get back here for Luke as he's getting his number retired is very special for me," Flutie said. "I think the No. 1 thing is that it makes me proud to be a BC alum when guys like Luke come through. What they did at school, what they do off the field and now continuing his NFL career has been amazing."

Kuechly assumed he would redshirt his freshman year with the Eagles loaded on defense, but he was thrown into the fire when injuries hit. He emerged as a star, but he said the help he had from teammates and coaches along the way was key.

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"You come in with expectations and goals," Kuechly said. "You expect maybe you get redshirted, but your goal is to play well. And for me, I had a lot of good people around me and I was kind of pushed into that role when I first got here.

"For me, luckily I had those guys like coach [Bill] McGovern and Wes [Davis] and Mike Morrissey and Mark Herzlich that showed me how to do things the right way and that helped me out.

"Even going into the NFL, it's kind of the same way. The two things that are similar between here and the NFL is I had guys that helped me out. That's the biggest thing that I'm thankful for, is that those guys provided me that opportunity as well as helped me through it."

Kuechly resumed classes after his rookie season and completed his degree the next year. He's kept his eye on his alma mater, catching a game in Chapel Hill against North Carolina. Looking at the linebackers now, he sees NFL futures for BC's Matt Milano and Connor Strachan.

"It's fun to watch those guys and you kind of can live through them a little bit in that sense of just how they play," he said. "They play with great effort and enthusiasm and they want to be good and you can tell that they pay attention and football is important to them."

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But Saturday will be the first time he's at Alumni Stadium for a game since he played there. The moment will be special, but it will also be something Kuechly said he'll appreciate more as time passes.

"Right now it's a cool deal, I take a lot of pride in it, it's great honor, it's really neat," he said. "But I think as time progresses the cooler it'll get and the more that it'll mean."


Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @julianbenbow.