Danny Stutsman named to the 2023 Butkus Award watch list

Oklahoma’s heart and soul of its defense has made the watch list for one of the most prestigious awards in college football.

Danny Stutsman had one of the more positive seasons for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2022.

He was playing his best football at the end of the season but due to lack of depth, he would wear out late in games. Stutsman led the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] in tackles.

Part of that was running away with the snaps lead as well. That should change with the “competitive depth” at that position.

Stutsman has also stepped into a leadership role. [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] said he’s led several player-led practices before fall camp.

Many people think a big year is in store and anything short of an All-Big 12 team would be a disappointment. Stutsman finished with 125 tackles, 10.5 for loss and three sacks. He also added two interceptions.

Those numbers have him on the [autotag]2023 Butkus Award[/autotag] preseason watch list given to the nation’s top linebacker. He would be the first Sooner to win the award since 2003.

The Sooners have four winners in its program’s history. [autotag]Teddy Lehman[/autotag] and [autotag]Rocky Calmus[/autotag] won the award once and [autotag]Brian Bosworth[/autotag] was the first winner in 1985. He won the award twice and remains the only two-time winner ever.

So, with a great season, Stutsman has the chance to join an elite group of players. But it’s something many think he could accomplish.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1366]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.