Who Said Boston College's Luke Kuechly Wasn't Big Enough, Fast Enough, Strong Enough?

Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly was a ball-hawking tackling machine during his three seasons as an Eagle. In his junior season last fall, he smashed his own school record for tackles in a season by racking up 191 of them. That total helped him break the ACC record for tackles in a career, etching a final tally of 532 into the books. His stellar season helped him reap several awards, including the highly renowned Butkus Award for being the best linebacker in college football.

Despite all of these accolades, NFL scouts have maintained their doubts about Kuechly's size, speed and strength in his move from the college scene to the NFL.

After Kuechly's eye-popping performance at the NFL Combine on Monday, however, many of the critics are starting to eat their own words.

Everyone knows that the former BC Eagle has an uncanny nose for the ball and an astronomical football IQ. His athleticism, though, was on full display during his combine workouts. In fact, Kuechly proved to be one of the most athletic among the linebackers — and all positions, for that matter — present at the 2012 combine.

After many emphasized the disadvantages of his small stature, Kuechly measured in at 6'3" and an impressive 242 pounds, showing that he has bulked up since the end of the college football season.

In the 40-yard dash, Kuechly ran a blistering 4.58 time, slating him third among linebackers.

On the bench press, he performed 27 reps — a very impressive number for a guy who was deemed to lack strength and muscle. His total placed him sixth among linebackers.

Kuechly's vertical jump notched a height of 38 inches, good for third-best among linebackers.

His broad jump distance of 10 feet, three inches ranked him fifth among his fellow linebackers.

His time for the three-cone drill (6.92 seconds) placed him fourth among linebackers, his 20-yard shuttle time (4.12 seconds) ranked him third, and he notched the best time among all linebackers in the 60-yard shuttle (11.43 seconds).

Pretty good for a kid who lacks athleticism.

For the local fans here at Boston College and throughout New England, there was never much doubt that Kuechly would translate to the NFL level. We've seen him play, we've seen his commitment, and we've seen his instincts in action. For some of us at the Heights, we've even seen his study habits and his profanity-free language choices. As Boston College coach Frank Spaziani and the rest of the Eagles refer to him, he's "Superboy."

The combine spread that same belief around the nation. After his impressive performance on Monday, it's a certainty that Kuechly will be drafted in the first round. I'd be stunned if he isn't gone by the 15th selection (Philadelphia). He might even go at No. 11 to the Kansas City Chiefs or No. 13 to the Arizona Cardinals. I suppose he could go to anyone — who wouldn't want Superboy?

There's one thing that I've been sure of for a while — and others are becoming convinced of it this week — Luke Kuechly is going to be a very good inside linebacker in the National Football League.

I look forward to purchasing his jersey... unless it's one of those teams from New York.