Cam Newton

Cam Newton originally had no idea that Luke Kuechly played linebacker

Published Jan. 22, 2016 4:37 p.m. ET

foxsports

When Cam Newton met Luke Kuechly, his first thought was probably the exact opposite of what you may think. No, Newton didn't think that Kuechly had great speed, or great coverage abilities. Instead, he actually thought the Carolina Panthers' star linebacker played a completely different position.

Via David Newton of ESPN:

“I was at IMG and he was running routes and I didn’t really know who he was at the time,’’ Newton said. “He had pretty good hands then, so I was thinking that he was like a tight end.

“So when we got him I was like, ‘Damn, he’s a linebacker.’ And then when I really dug down deeper and found who he was then I was extremely excited because we needed that type of dynamic player on the defensive side of the football.’’

Well, for what it's worth, we have seen Kuechly make some incredible catches this year, but they've been as a linebacker and resulted in his defense turning the ball back over to Carolina's offense.

Jeff Smith writes about the NFL for FOX Sports. You can find him on Twitter @JSM8ith.

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Cam Newton

Luke Kuechly

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