Luke Kuechly became a mentor early, as he led by example

And because of all that, his leadership showed up, even among peers.

AJ Klein is all of three months younger than Kuechly. They were in the same high school class, and the only reason Kuechly was a year ahead of Klein was by leaving Boston College a year before Klein left Iowa State.

But from the moment they met, Klein felt that older brother vibe.

“As soon as I got drafted and got in there, it was clear how personable Luke is,” Klein said. “Obviously, everybody will say the same thing, but Luke is not a person or a guy that has any ego at all. And obviously, him still being a young guy, we’re only a year apart; our friendship kicked off right off the bat.

“And he was just a guy that was obviously willing to help me early on, especially when we first got the OTAs and all the things, and He was never, never closed off. Always an open book, and we had a great friendship and a great time playing together for the four years I was there.”

Kuechly made it clear to Klein that it was never too late to call or text, and as early as OTAs that first spring, he’d take him up on it. Every time, Kuechly would reply with encouragement, telling him he was going to get it. Klein was new to the NFL and didn’t immediately recognize that was uncommon, but the way Kuechly walked through the stadium told him it was just how Kuechly was wired.

“Obviously, I didn’t know Luke personally before I got there, but when I got the chance to meet his family, his parents, early on when they came and visited, I mean, it was clear to see why he is the way he is,” Klein said. “He was raised in a good family, was taught respect. You could talk about the guys working the security station, coming into the building, the cook staff, the janitors, anybody and everybody in that building got talked to the same, treated with respect.

“And at the end of the day, we’re all part of the same team. So, Luke definitely emulated that; he talked to everybody and treated everybody the same.”