In the game of football Dick Butkus is royalty. Widely remembered as one of the best linebackers in the game. The top linebacker in college football will be presented with the Dick Butkus Award at seasons end. As a member of the Illinois Fighting Illini, Butkus earned two consensus All-American honors and finished sixth in Heisman voting during 1963 and finished third in 1964. Illinois stats show that Butkus finished his career with 374 career tackles. He is a member of both the College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fames.
The Big 12 Conference found eight linebackers named to the Dick Butkus Award watch list.
- Terrel Benard (Baylor)
- Mike Rose (Iowa State)
- DaShaun White (Oklahoma)
- Amen Ogbongbemiga (Oklahoma State)
- Malcolm Rodriguez (Oklahoma State)
- Garret Wallo (Texas Christian)
- Riko Jeffers (Texas Tech)
The eighth linebacker from the Big 12 Conference wears burnt orange on Saturdays.
Joseph Ossai – Butkus Award Watch List 🤘#ThisIsTexas #HookEm pic.twitter.com/2HNZupITru
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) July 20, 2020
It has been 16 years since a Longhorn has won this award. Derrick Johnson took home the honors in 2004. In fact he is the only Longhorn to ever take home the hardware since the trophy was first presented in 1985. It is time for another Texas player to walk away with it.
Joseph Ossai is becoming no stranger to the amount of watch lists he has found his name on. In his two season, Ossai has tallied 110 total tackles with 90 coming in 2019. He also recorded 13.5 tackles for loss and five sacks a season ago. A breakout year could be on the horizon in a new position. It could bring him more hardware but also increase his draft stock.
The semifinalists will be named on November 2nd and finalists on November 23rd. The winner will be announced by December 8th.