It didn’t take long for a rookie Luke Kuechly to take the first step to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Similarly, Gross was thrown into the deep end during his rookie year, shifting to a new position on the right in 2003, which meant daily battles against Hall of Famer Julius Peppers in one-on-ones. So in the summer of 2012, with Kuechly playing on the outside in training camp, he got a sense of a different kind of challenge, and not just because Kuechly was about 60 pounds lighter.

“It was easier than blocking Pep, because he was smaller,” Gross laughed. “But it was harder to catch Luke.”

That showed up early in training camp, along with the kind of anticipation Kuechly quickly became known for.

“Most linebackers are not good at rushing the passer,” said Gross, who’s now the offensive line coach at his alma mater, Utah. “They blitz, maybe one move, and then if you pick them up, that’s kind of the end of it, right? Well, this freshman, excuse me, I’m in college, this rookie, comes off the edge because he was playing outside backer initially, right?

“I’m playing left tackle, he does a rip move upfield, I block it, and I remember just thinking, OK, he’s done. He’s a rookie. The guy sits and spins, and spins back inside. Luckily, the ball was gone, would have for sure been a sack and beats me. And I just remember thinking, ‘How does that guy know? Like how does he know how to rush the passer already?’ So that was my first sign Luke Kuechly was pretty well developed, that he has instinct rushing the passer.”

Those kinds of “Huh, will you look at that?” moments were happening more often as camp and the early part of the season went along.