The Cincinnati native was Carolinaβs top pick out of Boston College in the 2012 draft.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. β Panthers legend Luke Kuechly will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer.
The seven-time All-Pro linebacker was announced as part of the Class of 2026 at Thursday nightβs NFL Honors ceremony in San Francisco.
Kuechly, who turns 35 in April, becomes the second-youngest inductee into the hall behind only Gale Sayers, who was 34 years old in 1977.
The Cincinnati native was Carolinaβs top pick out of Boston College in the 2012 draft and made an immediate impact, going on to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year that season. He followed that up by winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013.
Kuechly played just eight seasons due to injuries later in his career, but racked up 1,092 tackles and 18 interceptions. In those eight seasons, he was named All-Pro seven times, a rate only eclipsed by NFL greats Barry Sanders and Jim Brown.
Kuechly joins former Panthers Julius Peppers, Sam Mills, Reggie White and Jared Allen, but is the first player to be drafted by the franchise, spend his entire career in Carolina and go on to be enshrined.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement ceremony is this summer in Canton, Ohio.
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