Markus Kuhn Gives State German Flavor

The Weinheim Warriors’ loss has quickly turned out to be N.C. State’s gain. Markus Kuhn wasn’t often mentioned when the Wolfpack’s most recent recruiting class was discussed. But after just three games, the native of Weinheim, Germany, is slated to start this Saturday when N.C. State (1-2, 0-1 ACC) welcomes Clemson (3-0, 1-0) to Carter-Finley Stadium.

From Jeff – I think that Kuhn’s presence in the NC State program is very special and will be treated as such by our coaches. Coach Tom O’Brien obviously cares more about ‘life experiences’ and the development of leadership skills and the maturity of men than the average coach. (Let’s don’t bother calling any names here). Student-athletes like Kuhn generate exposure, conversation and developmental opportunities for all members of the NC State program that are unique and can be life-altering. I think that TOB will use Kuhn’s presence as a foundation for teaching more than just football within our ‘PROGRAM’ and as great development tools for the current and future members of the NC State Football.

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22 Responses to Markus Kuhn Gives State German Flavor

  1. MadWolf92 09/19/2007 at 12:23 PM #

    He’s our own little Henrik Rödl. (I wish that sounded better.)

  2. packbackr04 09/19/2007 at 1:00 PM #

    i thought Kuhn played extremely well against Wofford on Saturday. glad he is getting a shot to start. he deserves it

  3. BoKnowsNCS71 09/19/2007 at 1:20 PM #

    If he’s good — maybe they’ll outsource the OL next year.

  4. ADS95 09/19/2007 at 1:38 PM #

    Markus is going to be a very, very good player for us. Inexperienced now, but two years from now he could be All-ACC.

    To be fair, we should give Chuck and company some credit for recognizing the kid’s talent and potential in the first place. A previous article I read about him stated that he, along with his father, basically walked into the Murphy Center cold and told the Secretary “I’m Markus Kuhn and I play football”. Kudos to the secretary for not brushing them off – she recognized that he looked like a football player, and had Chuck and one other staff member come talk to them. They talked and had him do a short workout, and not long after that he had a scholarship offer.

    Chuck always had a good eye for defensive talent – this is another example. Fortunately, Coach O’Brien is no slouch at developing talent either.

  5. haze 09/19/2007 at 1:52 PM #

    ^ Is it legal for a player to do a private “quick workout” for a college staff? I don’t think so but I may be wrong.

    However, CTC’s staff was definitely the primary contact with Kuhn. Silent verbal-ish, IIRC.

  6. Mr O 09/19/2007 at 1:55 PM #

    Kuhn had six tackles and 1 tackle fof a loss Saturday. UNC’s #1 DT in the country has three tackles in three games.

    Andrew Jones of the Wilmington Star is my favorite sportswriter in the state. I know there is some type of UNC connection(graduate or worked for IC or both), but his coverage of NC State is excellent. Not only does he give us a lot of coverage, but he usually has fresh ideas for interesting stories and shows us a unique perspective we don’t see from most of the state’s sportswriters. The article on Chuck Amato he did last year the weeks leading up to him being fired was the most interesting story on Amato in the seven years he was at NC State. This article on Kuhn is another example of Jones being slightly ahead of the curve.

  7. Delete-Me 09/19/2007 at 2:01 PM #

    We took our German exchange student to the game Saturday and pointed him out to her. She’s still trying to figure out the hubbub around Wolfpack sports (and sports in general), but she did have a good time.

    While hearing some fans around us talking about Kuhn, my wife joked about starting up a rumor that our exchange student IS his sister. Maybe next time.

    On a different note, Blackman attend the same high school as my wife. So she’s got one last year to enjoy that.

    It’s cool to have these connections, albeit small.

  8. WIFF 09/19/2007 at 2:08 PM #

    Off topic, but if anyone needs a fitted Wolfpack hat. $10
    http://www.lids.com/pid/20056139

  9. highonlowe 09/19/2007 at 2:27 PM #

    ^ thanks, I’ve actually been looking for one since all the new zephyr hats are lame elastic in s/m/l

  10. burnbarn 09/19/2007 at 5:34 PM #

    O, you are gonna give Jones a big head with your praise… watch out!!

    I agree, he does consistantly give us good coverage. He does throw a couple zingers a year at us it seems, but overall…

  11. vtpackfan 09/19/2007 at 6:27 PM #

    I am pleasanty surprised with the emerging play of Kuhn. I know alot of the situation has to do with injuries, but he (and Clemmons) have showed alot of toughness and desire when given an opportunity. A good thing in an early season filled with more questions then answers so far.

    One more long standing question I have concerning MK is his role in Archers proposed defensive scheme. We all assume that MK has alot of physical gifts and TOB has already commented on how strong his character is, so it’s safe to also assume he has alot of up-side. We’re do other’s out here see him in a predominate 3-4 defensive scheme? Nose guard, DE, LB? Or maybe a versatile guy who lines up different places during the course of the game.

  12. MadWolf92 09/19/2007 at 7:21 PM #

    Seeing as he’s played LB and DT, I think he’d probably make an excellent 3-4 DE, especially as he’s primarily a DT at the moment.

  13. RochesterRedWolf 09/20/2007 at 2:22 AM #

    I am not sure what you guys have read but the story i read today said that Kuhn gave the Amato staff a DVD of him playing in Germany and then they offered him a scholarship. I wouldn’t give CTC that much credit, wasn’t like he was watching German club teams in his spare time “looking for talent”.

    And besides TOB and Co. still had to decide whether they wanted to offer a scholarship to Kuhn anyway.

    Another article said he played DE and LB for his german team (he was like the top player in his league for 4 years in a row or something like that, which is supposedly the best german club league.) He looks too big to be LB but i don’t know what his 40time is.

    But if its any wonder why more international players don’t play, just read Kuhn’s comments about him going against our 3rd string OL and getting his hat handed to him. American Football is played at a high level and its something i never really appreciated i guess.

  14. bTHEredterror 09/20/2007 at 3:33 AM #

    /\ Very true, if you watched the American Football world cup, this point is more apparent there. We took a bunch of Division II and III guys you prolly never heard of, and won Gold. It was a close game decided by a last second field goal. It was a somewhat lower standard of Football, but it was entertaining because of the variation in styles, and interesting think it might catche on. The Japanese in particular seem to get the game, and had a few interesting wrinkles that kept the championship game close. They mostly ran a one back shotgun with Reverse action every play, but would throw and PA out of it. I know WLAF caught on the most in Germany.

    I agree with MadWolf92, Kuhn could be a good 3-4 end probably better on the strong side where the LB usually has contain, though I expect he played the rush LB in Germany. That would mean he likely had some experience with playing zone as well, and could be used in the short zone in some zone blitz schemes. He’s a little smallish right now to be NT in 3-4, you want them to be wide and immovable. He seems like the type of athlete who could turn up anywhere else in the front 7 next spring, depending upon needs.

  15. Sw0rdf1sh 09/20/2007 at 8:58 AM #

    I agree about Jones for Wilmington Star. He does give us some coverage, but like what was mentioned….he gives us zingers and a lot of UNC Man-love.

    I find it hard to be completely on his bandwagon, but at least he gives ample ACC coverage.

  16. RAWFS 09/20/2007 at 9:34 AM #

    Very true, if you watched the American Football world cup, this point is more apparent there. We took a bunch of Division II and III guys you prolly never heard of, and won Gold. It was a close game decided by a last second field goal.

    The Japanese gave the Americans all that they could handle. The game was actually a 2OT affair decided 23-20 when the two-time defending champion Japanese missed a field goal in the 2nd OT. The Americans were led by a backup D1 QB from Texas.

  17. RAWFS 09/20/2007 at 9:46 AM #

    Correction: Adam Austin was the American QB and was from Arizona. The complete roster is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_national_American_football_team and included mostly FCS, D2 and D3 talent (like Red Terror points out) with VT, tOSU and other guys mixed in.

    The game was on NFLN this summer, for those that were so equipped.

  18. packpigskinfan23 09/20/2007 at 2:34 PM #

    Manny Lawson- Torn ACL. Out for season.

  19. Primewolf 09/20/2007 at 8:11 PM #

    Markus is definitely built different that our prototype DTs. He is just solid muscle and no fat, no gut and has a low CG for someone 6 2″ or 6 3″. I think he will end up at DE, but he may well be a great DT.

    He will be something in a few years, just on pure technique improvment and knowledge of the game.

  20. RabidWolf 09/20/2007 at 8:24 PM #

    None shall survive the Blitzkrieg!

  21. vtpackfan 09/20/2007 at 8:30 PM #

    Maybe for fun (and a distraction from a possible long season ahead) I’ll throw out a 2008 two deep organization chart for a 3 -4 defense.

    DE: Kuhn, Larsen

    NG: Cash, Willis

    DE: Holmes, Augustin

    OLB: Young, Cole

    MLB: Michels, Maddux

    MLB: Barnes, Beasley

    OLB: Irving, Manning

    RCB: Neal, Morgan

    SS: Morgan, Walker

    FS: Leonard, Barnes

    LCB: Sutton, Gray

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