That’s why Howard Skall stood at the back of the room and smiled Thursday. He’s Kuechly’s longtime marketing agent and confidant, the guy who’s supposed to be taking care of Kuechly, who too often watched Kuechly pick up litter after meals at commercial shoots, because that’s just what he does.
“He’s making me look bad, because that’s what I’m supposed to be doing,” Skall laughed. “He’s picking it up, throwing it away for everybody, and they’re looking at him like, ‘Who is this guy?’ Like, we’ve never had talent literally take our plates and throw them away for us, right? But that’s who he is.”
Skall has known Kuechly since the spring of 2012, before he was drafted by the Panthers in the first round. And what he saw Thursday night was the culmination of all those years.
“I think he’s just grown,” Skall said. “I mean, 2012 Luke is kind of wide-eyed. And he talks a lot about it; he was fortunate to go to a great locker room and have mentors and leaders he could learn from.
“And now I see him, and over time, he became that leader. He was the guy that took charge, and I’m not even talking about on the field stuff, just from a confidence standpoint, personality standpoint, and just wanting to take charge of everything, take care of everything, take care of the people he loves in his life. And I think he’s, he obviously had that the whole time, but you just see the confidence in the person he’s grown into, it’s cool to see. I mean, it’s just really, really, really cool to see. I’m just happy for him because he’s so deserving.”