Purdue linebacker a force in the middle
By Peter Adelman, Sports Writer
When Niko Koutouvides ran out of the Purdue locker room last Saturday to face Penn State, he knew it would be his last chance to beat the team he grew up loving.
The 6-foot-3 241-pound middle linebacker and captain of the Purdue Boilermakers attended Penn State football camps as late as his freshman year of high school. When he arrived at Purdue the Boilermakers had not beaten Penn State since the teams’ first meeting back in 1951.
“I was always rooting for the Lions, but now I don’t like them one bit,” Koutouvides said.
This season the Boilermakers beat PSU 28-14, with Koutouvides leading the defense with eight tackles and helping to hold Penn State to 98 yards passing and 106 yards rushing.
Despite his current success, Koutouvides’ career did not start out so easy. He was unnoticed by major college programs coming out of Plainville High School in Plainville, Conn. After high school, Koutouvides played one season at Milford Academy, a postgraduate high school, so he could compete at a high level without giving up college eligibility. There, he played with some of his good friends from high school and caught various coaches’ attention from the East Coast and Midwest.
Purdue was the first school to give him an offer, and after he took his visit to West Lafayette, he knew it was where he belonged. He signed immediately and cancelled other trips to Boston College, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota and other prestigious universities.
Although Koutouvides finally got the chance to play at Purdue, he did not start off his career as he would have hoped. On the first day of spring practice his freshman year he hyper-extended his knee and sprained his ankle on the same play. The coaching staff was skeptical of Koutouvides’ durability, but he worked hard through the pain and came out of summer camps without having to redshirt.
Due to his focus and dedication, Koutouvides has not missed a game in over three years at Purdue. During his freshman year, he played as a backup outside linebacker and put in time on special teams. Starting six games as a sophomore, Koutouvides led the Big Ten in fumble recoveries (4) and was fifth in forced fumbles (3). As a junior he was moved to middle linebacker were he started all 13 games, led the team with 121 tackles and three interceptions, and received All-Big Ten honors. Koutouvides is now a senior captain on the No. 13 ranked Purdue Boilermakers (5-1, 2-0) where he leads a defense that is one of the best, not only in the Big Ten, but also nationally. Already this season he has 38 tackles, three pass breakups and two interceptions. According to “The Sporting News,” Koutouvides is the sixth-best inside linebacker in the country and is on the Butkus Award watch list, the most prestigious award for college linebackers.
Known for his intensity on the field and fun-loving attitude off, Koutouvides has developed a close bond with many of his defensive teammates. He is known for constantly running his mouth while on the field and for joking around off it.
“My teammates have a little saying with me: ‘If I’m not talking, I’m not playing,’ When I’m out there running my mouth, they know things are good for me.”
Things certainly are good for the small-town player who went from practically unnoticed to a team leader who can be seen around the world on his own website (niko34.com).
