I can't help but continue discussion on the Luke Kuechly interview from yesterday. If this interview after his first day of mini-camp in a Panther practice jersey is any indication we are going to love his interviews even more once he achieves his first objective:
''You have to come in with the mindset that you're at the bottom of the totem pole now,'' he said. ''There will be guys that have been here 10 or 15 years and you have to gain their respect. You can't come in thinking that you've arrived because you haven't done anything yet.
''You have to prove what you can do.''
Some people might read into the fact Kuechly was given Ron Riveras jersey number #59 as a sign the coach was trying to set a bar for him. The ever humble BAMF cleared that up:
''There's no legacy for him to worry about there, so he'll be fine,'' Rivera said.
It turns out the only reason there was no need for Kuechly to pick a number is because 59 was the only 50's jersey number left.
''I was like, 'Great, I got a jersey. I'm not picky,''' he said.
What a co-inky dink! Hopefully he won't be picky about where he lines up.
Rivera plans to throw a lot at the rookie including the responsibility of learning two positions:
''He looked good,'' Rivera said. ''We put some pressure on him to learn both positions, but we think he's that kind of football player and that kind of athlete that can handle it. It will be interesting to see how he meshes with the rest of the guys on defense.''
I believe the meshing has started. Stay tuned for Meshing: Day 2!