"Those things hold a weight," Kuechly said of the jacket and the bust. "And they're the same in a lot of ways. The biggest difference was when we put the jacket on, it was the jacket. When Ben was finished, it was clay. There's a whole process to go through to get to the bust. So I've seen the jacket. I haven't seen a finished bust.
"In my mind, the thing I'm looking forward to most is that bust because I haven't seen it yet. When we were at the Merlin Olsen Luncheon, and you see 100 dudes in there with the jackets on, you're like 'Whoa, that's cool.' And then when we went up to Canton, and they take you in that bust room, and they're all in there, you're like, 'OK, wow.'
"I think each step of the way becomes, I don't know if more real is the right word, but you can kind of put yourself in that spot. It's fascinating."
And it's that way for the 49-year-old Hammond, too, and not just because Kuechly reminds him of the guys who played Moses, Atticus Finch, and Dirty Harry. Having done this for nearly 20 years, he has an appreciation for the greats of the game, and he understands that Kuechly's status puts him among the greats of all time.
"He's a unique guy; he's an old soul," Hammond said of his latest model. "He really should be considered one of the best. The people who have played the game and other Hall of Famers I've talked to, they're like, 'Luke was a nightmare.' That's what's fun through all these years of sculpting these guys. They know who belongs in the Hall of Fame. And even though Luke had a shorter career, it was those eight years he played, he was a menace."
A menace with a chiseled jaw and leading-man looks, which are in the process of being preserved and displayed for all to see.