CHARLOTTE — Tre Boston was able to walk into something special. And then, he was able to come back.

This weekend, he'll be back at Bank of America Stadium as the Legend of the Game and will hit the Keep Pounding drum going into the fourth quarter.

Boston came here originally as a fourth-round pick from North Carolina. (He also has thoughts about Bill Belichick being named the Tar Heels' coach — "If they go get Bill, that means you're invested. Like we're a football school, it's going to be wild.")

And by dropping into a defense full of stars in 2014, he was able to grow into a role and experience a 15-1 run in his second season and a trip to Super Bowl 50. He sacked Russell Wilson in the playoffs and picked off Carson Palmer in the NFC Championship Game.

After his first three seasons here, he spent some time with the Chargers and Cardinals, but returned for the 2019 and 2020 seasons and started all 16 games each year. In retirement he's stayed busy in broadcasting and entertainment.

Panthers.com caught up with Boston last week to reminisce about his days here:

Q: When you look at this Panthers team over the last couple of weeks, what are the things you see as a guy who has been in that locker room?

Boston: "I see guys who are banding together. Guys who realize it's inside looking out that, hey, we got to get it done together as a unit. We've got to believe, And you're seeing guys relax a little bit more, I think. Bryce, coming off of being benched, has looked amazing. So it's good to see him blossom. The defense has looked well, flying around and making plays.

"I think this team is taking accountability and acceptance of the chip on their shoulder like, hey, like it's our back is against the wall, either we can complain about it or do something about it, and we've seen them come out in these last few games and give their all. I mean, we've seen them play good ball, good enough ball to win ball games, but football comes down to those key four to six plays. So yeah, it's good to see these guys starting to get their flow of what it's like to not only be in games but try to win them."

Q: With Dallas coming back here this week, I'm sure you've thought about the Thanksgiving game in 2015. Is that as much fun as you've had on the field as a player?

Boston: "It's definitely up there. I think it's one of my favorite away games for sure; I will put that up there with us beating Seattle earlier in the year. That's the height of away game atmosphere; you know how we used to get down with Seattle year after year.

"But that Dallas game gave us so much publicity. Hey, here go the Carolina Panthers; are they undefeated? It was kind of like a shrug, like they're undefeated? But going into Dallas, us beating them the way we did in the fashion that we did, I mean, not only for us, but it put the world on notice, the nation on notice, the NFL on notice. For us, man, it's almost like the league had messed up because we had built even more confidence. Like, hey, if y'all finally thought we were going to lose and this is the team we're supposed to lose to? lLook what we just got done doing to them on Thanksgiving. And the momentum just from there just flipped. Everybody knew like, oh no, we're a team."

Q: What does that feel like in the locker room when you guys realize that?

Boston: "Man, that's a feeling that I haven't felt many times, but your locker room feels truly like a brotherhood. Chemistry. Everybody's able to really bond together. But I also think the confidence is understanding that everybody has prepared the way that they need to prepare. Everybody has put in the work that they need to put in during the week.

"Your brother's trusting each individual to do their 1/11th, and when you can trust the man next to you, and you know the work that they put in and the preparation that they put in, their attitude about it and the effort they're going to put out, it just makes the game so much easier. And you just saw guys playing together, having fun, trusting each other, knowing that no matter who lines up against us, we're better than. If we know our assignment, if we know what we're doing and how to do it and, and how they're going to beat us, they can't beat us. We simplified the game because of everything that we did off the field and in the locker room.

Q: Wanted to also ask you, part of that part of that defense was obviously Luke Kuechly right in the middle of all of it. He's a semifinalist for the Hall of Fame for the first time this year. What stood out the most about him and just watching him from your perspective? What was it that made that guy special?

Boston: "I think attention to detail, I believe leading by example, preparation like no other. Unselfish. I hate it, I mean, you don't hear the word loving too often in football, but man, the way that Luke loved his teammates and loved the game, you don't see very often. I would say, yeah, that's just a few words because I can end up rambling all day about my guy.

"I'll say this, man. Luke is my favorite player because I've seen him not only be a professional on but off the field, shake people's hands, and greet people the way they were supposed to be greeted. The first one in the building, the last one out of the building. But man, in between those lines, he was a savage. So to see that, that off the field, on the field. Oh my God, this is what you dream of when you talk about a player that you want to be, that you want to emulate."

Q: You just said five or six things, but not big or strong or fast or any physical description.

Boston: "Well, I could say a freak athlete. The deception of athletes like, oh, he doesn't really look like this, or he doesn't, or is he strong? Luke is by far one of the strongest. I mean, he's a freak athlete in a body that looks like Clark Kent."

Q: As a guy who started his career here, what did it mean to you to be able to come back home to finish here?

Boston: "It meant the world to come back to where all of your memories, all of your hard work to the beginning. How much I love just the people around, from the custodians to trainers, our chefs there, and our relationships. So for me to be able to come back into those relationships and continue to bring the people of Charlotte together, North Carolina and South Carolina, it just meant a lot. Because of leaving, I was able to grow it myself and become an even better player, but to come back to where it all started and, again, just try to build something. It was truly a blessing to myself to be able to come back for sure."

Q: Having seen it during the good times and some of the times which were not so good, what's it like to be here when you sense a little bit of atmosphere in the air?

Boston: "I think when we're playing well, man, that building is unbelievable. I think Charlotte, when the Panthers play well, it's a microcosm of the community. When we're playing well, everybody's cheered up; they're excited around the building and smile everywhere. And it's tough when you take losses. Those smiles aren't really there as much because you're thinking, hey, take the job seriously. Hey, don't smile. Hey, I'm really intent on this. But when you're able to win ball games, man, you're able to smile, you're able to be yourself. And the more you win ball games, the more you find out, hey, like when you are smiling, when you are having fun is when you're winning ball games.

"So then, we feel like the city is raging, and everybody's rocking the Carolina Panthers gear. Everybody wants to stay and talk football around the stadium. When you're winning, everybody wants to be there. Everybody shows up early; everybody's leaving late because they want to be enriched in that culture, that winning, that chemistry, that love, that bond. It's not something that is fake, and I don't think many organizations capture chemistry. You can talk Xs and Os and this and that. But man, a bond that a team can make together is special, and there's a reason why those championship teams still understand and know each other because it took a special bond. Roles being played in acceptance. Everybody has a job for everybody to move on. So, man, when we're winning, I feel like everybody's on Cloud 9 knowing that anything's possible."

Q: As a former player here, what does it mean to you to come back and be around the team, the Christmas tree lighting, and other events?

Boston: "When we have a relationship with Legends and the veterans and the former players, we get to come in and take their place at appearances sometimes; we get to allow them to take a breath and let us just handle what you guys can as well as hey man, the guys who already put in work here that the fans love. I mean, why not continue to bring us around and allow us to help out the organization in any way possible, whether it's foundational stuff, whether it's Christmas tree lightings, I helped out with this year, and a plethora of things?

"But for us, it's just good to be around, man. Just because we're done doesn't mean that we're, you know, not Panthers for life. Some of us bled that black and blue, and it's good to be around and still love on the people."

Q: When part of coming back is hitting the Keep Pounding drum, what's that like for players from this era who may not have met Sam Mills or had as close of a bond to his story?

Boston: "We weren't privileged enough to have Sam Mills, but we were privileged enough to have Sam Mills III. I don't know if he felt this way, but you can tell that he carried the weight of the man who his father was, and he did it very well, man. You talk about having integrity; you talk about having character. That was Sam Mills, man, and he did it with grace, just as if he knew that's how his father did it.

"So it was a blessing to be around the name and the family, and it embodies us. You hear the story, you know what it's about, but to see it embodied by the city, the culture, the everything that we're about. That's us. Like, we know no other way. We're the Cardiac Cats; literally, all we do is Keep Pounding. It just fits so well that it's a reason why it's ours, and this is what we do. Like, we Keep Pounding, no matter the circumstances. We play great defense; we run the ball. It's not always pretty football, but we're going to Keep Pounding regardless.

So, it's a blessing to have something like that, so special, so meaningful to our team. It's not just a mantra that we made up, or it's not just a catchy slogan that just came from something that was trending. No, that came from the heart. That came from one of ours when their back was against the wall; I'm giving you everything I got. So for us to have something like that to embody, it's way more special than any phrase, or any line. It's ours, and we're going to continue to keep it going."