Kuhn has become unlikely hero for the Packers

GREEN BAY - It's the perfect situation, Greg Jennings insists. A 6-foot, 250-pound undrafted free-agent underdog, cut more times than he cares to discuss, making big yards and big plays, with one of those names that just begs for it.

John Kuhn, York, Pa., native, pride of Shippensburg University.

Or as he's known by fans in the land of cheese:

John K-U-U-U-U-HN.

"You've got this big, stocky guy, going in there," the Packers wideout said this week. "Just a head-beater all day long. He's hitting it hard and taking a lot of hits, but he's getting yardage. And he's making guys bounce off of him. And . . .

"Well, J-E-N-N-I-N-G-S wouldn't work."

No, it wouldn't. On too many levels to list. Drafted in the second round of the 2006 draft,

Jennings was a starter in his first-ever NFL game, a blazer who this season has become Aaron Rodgers' favorite big-play target, with 12 touchdown catches. He is paid handsomely for it, in the second season of a $26.9 million contract.

John Kuhn is a minimum-wage foot patrolman, trying to keep the other guys honest. After a record-setting career at Shippensburg, he bounced on and off the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad in his first two seasons before catching on as Green Bay's blocking back in 2007.

Ryan Grant, the team's feature back, became only the third Packers back to amass more than 1,200 yards in 2008 and 2009, but when Grant tore ligaments in his ankle in Green Bay's opener at Lincoln Financial Field, there really was no backup plan.

"We've gotten contributions from a lot of different guys," Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. "But, no question, John's filled a big void."

In his three previous seasons in Green Bay, Kuhn carried the ball 16 times for 28 yards total. This season, he rushed for 281 yards on 84 carries with four touchdowns. He caught 15 passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Virtually every time his hands have touched the ball at Lambeau, the chant - "K-U-U-U-U-HN" - has bellowed.

"I kind of heard it in college a little bit," Kuhn said. "The band started it. But we only had about 2.000 people at the games. So it sounded a little different."

He is a little bit embarrassed about it, truth be told, although he sent the crowd into a frenzy when he jumped into the crowd each of the three times he scored against the Giants in late December. Kuhn enjoys that part of it. But the Monday meetings that follow, and the Wednesday meetings, and the Thursday meetings, and . . .

"He gets a lot of ribbing from his teammates, trust me," Philbin said.

Said Jennings, "Yeah, we give him a hard time."

Every time he appears on film, every time a coach mentions his name. It's probably why Kuhn spent much of his week ducking in and out of the locker room until he was finally trapped on his way to the weight room on Thursday. His story is not new, but those touchdowns against the Giants and the proximity of his hometown and college to

Philadelphia have bolstered his profile, if that's possible.

So, yes, he said, he went to games at Veterans Stadium as a kid. But in case you thought about rooting for him even a little on Sunday, know that the Cowboys were his team.

"I never wore my Cowboys stuff there, though," he said.

"What kind of fan is that?" someone asked him.

"A smart fan," he said.

He is smart, attending NFL business seminars at Penn's Wharton School and at Harvard over the last few years. He even called them "fun." At 28, given his spotty start and still tenuous position as a professional, Kuhn knows there will be a time he must do something else. That point has been hammered home to him each time he's been cut, each time someone - sometimes a family member, even - asked, "What are you going to do now?"

"It gets compared to underdog stories all the time, but I just look at it as the way it was," he said. "I just kind of stayed the course, did what was asked of me throughout my whole career and worked my way to where I am today."

A piece. A very important piece.

"He's got the mindset and the willpower to overcome anything," Jennings said.

"That's just his mindset. His mentality. His makeup. We give him a hard time, because red zone has become kind of K-U-U-U-HN zone. But he doesn't disappoint. He gets it in the end zone for us."

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