LB Luke Kuechly
Re: Taking Cortland Finnegan out to dinner when he got to Charlotte
“Cortland was a guy we brought in, we knew he was going to be a big piece of what we were doing. I talked with him and asked him if he needed anything to give me a shout. His locker is right next to mine and I was trying to find out who he was. Instantly he started giving me a little bit of grief for those UGGs that Cam gave us. So he was knocking me on that and I told him that I wear them because they are comfortable. From there I kind of understood that he could take a joke.”
Re: If he tries to take new guys out to dinner when they join the team
“Yeah, they are going to be on your team, so you might as well go meet them as soon as they get here, otherwise it gets awkward. They’re on the team, you know you’re on the team. You see each other all the time and if you don’t introduce yourself right away then it’s kind of awkward because you know them, they know you and it’s easier if you just go out and talk to them right away. That’s kind of my approach.”
Re: Who took him to dinner when he joined Carolina
“Cam did. When I first got here, I had my press conference in here, and then I got something to eat with Cam, and he just talked to me and that was fun.”
Re: Roman Harper saying that he was the nicest person he’s ever met
“I got him fooled. I like to get to meet the new guys that come in. Since I’ve been here it’s kind of been that way when the new guy gets here and everyone welcomes him. I knew who Roman was when he got here and I wanted to meet him because I watched him play and he was a fun player to watch. But I think it’s just the appropriate thing to do. Not necessarily taking them out to dinner is the right thing, but I always make a conscience effort to go meet a guy and talk to him and see where he is from, that way you understand him. I think if you can know a guy off the field, I think it helps you on the field. Because if you’re just talking to a guy on the field and all you’re doing is talking football then maybe you can’t get on the same page. But off the field if you get to know him and understand what makes him tick and become friends with him, I think it really allows you to broaden what you can do on the field. It helps on the field but I think it’s also the right thing to do when a new guy gets here is welcome him to the team so he feels comfortable.”
Re: Last year on Christmas Eve watching film at the facility and Coach Rivera having to kick him out
“Well, I was just trying to make sure I was properly prepared. I try to keep the same approach each week of Tuesday do this, Wednesday do this, Thursday do that. I don’t remember what day Christmas fell, but I was in the process of doing what I try to do every week. I was still able to get out of here at a decent time, but I wanted to stay on my schedule because it was working at that time.”
Re: Michael Floyd being considered a baby Larry Fitzgerald
“I think size-wise they are very similar. I played against Michael when he was at Notre Dame and he was always a guy that we had circled. ‘This guy, you can’t let this guy beat you.’ He’s big. He’s physical. He can run. He makes contested throws. He can block. So in that sense I think he is very similar to Larry. I think if you were to take the jersey numbers off of them and line them up it would be tough to figure out who’s different. Larry has been around for a long time and he makes a lot of plays and I think Michael is kind of working his way up to that area.”
Re: What the value is of having a coach that allows the personalities of his players to show
“Guys are loose. Guys aren’t tight. Guys aren’t worried about what he’s going to say. I think Coach’s mindset, and like he is, are very simple: come work hard, show up on time, be respectful and appreciate what you have and where you are. I think other than that if you can follow those couple of rules you are pretty much good. As long as you are nice to everyone, you play hard, you work hard and you respect everyone, he kind of gives you free reign and he’s able to kind of pull guys in when maybe they are getting a little too outrageous. But everyone respects Coach and Coach respects us and it’s a great relationship.”
Re: If it is in his nature to be more mature than his age
“I’m 24, but this is your fourth year. I think in your fourth year you’ve kind of got to start to make strides in the right direction and I think I am doing that. You bring younger guys in. It’s funny for me to think about looking at Shaq (Thompson) and Funch (Devin Funchess), those guys you ask them when they were born and they’re mid-90s. It’s kind of weird for me to think about, but Thomas (Davis) always gives me grief for being a 90s baby and now that these guys are kind of getting closer to 2000. It kind of just makes me laugh because you think you are the young guy and the new younger guys come in and you are not the young guy anymore.”