Kuechly & Herzlich, The Best 1-2 Punch at LB In The ACC?

Luke Kuechly and Mark Herzlich of Boston College have never played a game together but they could very well be the best linebacker duo in the Atlantic Coast Conference this fall. Kuechly is a sophomore that was recently named to The Sporting News' preseason All-American team while Herzlich is cancer survivor that was red shirted in 2009 and has a reputation as an extremely productive outside linebacker.

After Mark Herzlich was forced to the sidelines, the BC defense was looking for an identity and a leader. Little did they know, it would be a freshman from Ohio that received little praise as a recruit (44th best LB on Rivals.com). At St. Xavier, Luke Kuechly's high school, his teammates and coaches called him the "Quiet Assassin". There was nothing quiet about him last season.

Luke was only a freshman in 2009 and after injuries forced him into the starting lineup, he never looked back. He was named the 2009 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year after posting up 158 tackles (2nd in the nation), 13 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery. These are impressive numbers but they don't even begin to tell the whole story. Kuechly is on pace to absolutely shatter the team record for career tackles (524, Steven Boyd).

Anytime his team needed a big play, Kuechly was there. He even racked up 14 tackles in the team's biggest game of the year against USC in the Emerald Bowl. With better play at the quarterback position, BC wins that game and Kuechly is the MVP. In fact, despite the loss he still won defensive MVP. He was that good. The scary thing? This kid hasn't even scratched the surface of his potential.

"He's a coach's dream," BC head coach Frank Spaziani said. "The guy works hard, plays hard. He loves football. He wants to get better. And he has instincts. He does a lot of good things."

Kuechly isn't the only linebacker at Boston College who has garnered a lot of national attention. Mark Herzlich is probably the most well known BC player, not only for his toughness on the field but off it. Herzlich without question wants to put the cancer behind him but he's always going to hear about it because it's a good story. It won't matter though when he steps on the field in September to play his first game in more than a full calender year.  This 6'4'', 240 lb monster is all about taking care of business on the field.

In 2008, Herzlich capped off an incredible year by winning the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. This was a year in which Herzlich was absolutely dominant in all facets of the game. Herzlich had 110 tackles, 6 interceptions, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 defensive touchdowns. He hasn't played a game since but if he can even return to 75% of his 2008 form in 2010, coach Spaziani will be delighted.

The question that many fans and observers want to know is: Will Mark Herzlich be the same? Even if he isn't the same, it doesn't matter. Give him credit for how much adversity he's fought through and still maintaining a positive attitude. Despite not being able to play last year, he volunteered and took on an unofficial role as an assistant coach on the sidelines. Herzlich is a leader in many ways on and off the field. He probably was a big reason for Kuechly's success last year, with all the knowledge and experience he has.

This dynamic duo may or may not be the best 1-2 punch in the ACC at linebacker. Sure, there may be some other teams who have big names and players that have played together. However, it would take a whole lot of convincing to make this guy believe that two warriors of Kuechly and Herzlich's caliber can't dominate the ACC. These two guys could be the reason that BC wins 10 games. Two players don't make a team and there are still many question marks surrounding BC but it's time to finally give these guys credit where credit is due. They have gone under the radar for way too long and maybe playing on the field together will create some magic BC fans haven't seen since Matt "Matty Ice" Ryan.