With the playoffs off to a great start for the Panthers, I caught up with junior offensive lineman Luke Kandra to ask him some questions about both football and himself. Although Luke has earned a reputation similar to that of a brick wall with his play on the field, he’s much more than just a great football player.

Sports definitely occupy a large portion of Luke’s time, and the three sports that he plays are three of his favorite hobbies: “I play football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and I throw shot put and discus in the spring.”

Although Luke is exceptionally busy with his abundance of extracurricular activities, he gets it done in the classroom and is a tremendous student.

Along with football and basketball, Luke is extremely good at throwing an assortment of objects. Two years ago Luke broke the freshman shot put record, but he didn’t stop there. Last year he broke the sophomore record for both shot put and discus. Luke’s personal record for shot put is 50′-7″, and for discus his personal best is 140′-3″.

Since Luke hopes to possibly continue his football career at the collegiate level, I asked him about some colleges that he is interested in as well as some that are interested in him, and he said “I’m only really interested in the schools that are kind of interested in me.”

Lastly, with the Panthers looking to make a deep playoff run, I asked Luke about his expectations for the rest of the season. He said, “My expectations are very high because we are playing our best football right now. If we play all four quarters, we are very scary to go against on offense and defense.” Certainly his expectations are valid, and this team is capable of making a special run.

Luke is a well-rounded individual with numerous talents who is enjoyable to be around. Whether you know him as Luke, Kandra, Kandy, milk truck, or any other name, hopefully now you know him a little bit better.