Kuechly, who leads the nation with 191 tackles this season, beat out Alabama linebackers Courtney Upshaw and Dont’a Hightower and Stanford offensive tackle Jonathan Martin for the award last night.

Kuechly was a bright spot for a 4-8 Eagles squad. The junior has a school- and Atlantic Coast Conference-record 532 career tackles.

He is the first recipient from BC and won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker Sunday.

Kuechly has had 10 or more tackles in 33 of his 37 career games. He had 191 tackles this season and 183 last year, the top two season totals in ACC history.