Tag: Butkus Award

Curtis Jacobs named Butkus Award semifinalist

Penn State linebacker Curtis Jacobs is one of 12 semifinalists for this national linebacker award.

Penn State linebacker [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag] is one of 12 semifinalists for this season’s Collegiate Butkus Award, honoring the top linebacker in college football. The Butkus Award released its list of semifinalists on Monday.

Through 9 games this season, Jacobs has 36 total tackles, 25 solo tackles, 5 tackles for a loss and 1 sack. His 36 total tackles leads the team, with two more than fellow star linebacker [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag]. Jacobs always seems to be around the football and is one of the most consistent players on what has been a tremendous defense for the Nittany Lions all year.

Jacobs is now looking to become the third player in Penn State history to win the Butkus Award. The only two players to previously win the award while wearing a Penn State uniform are [autotag]LaVar Arrington[/autotag] in 1999 and [autotag]Paul Posluszny[/autotag] in 2005.

Last year’s Butkus Award winner was Jack Campbell of Iowa, who is also the most recent Big Ten player to take home the award.

Here is the full list of semifinalists for this year’s Butkus Award.

2023 Collegiate Butkus Award Semifinalists

The winner of this year’s award will be named on or before Dec. 7.

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Clemson linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. has been named a Butkus Award semifinalist

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is being recognized as a Butkus Award semifinalist.

The Butkus Foundation announced today that linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. has been named as one of 12 semifinalists for the 2023 Butkus Award, presented annually to the nation’s top linebacker.

More information from The Butkus Foundation is included below.

2023 BUTKUS AWARD® SEMIFINALISTS UNVEILED
Butkus Foundation lauds 12 linebackers at each level as contenders for 2023 awards

CHICAGO – The Butkus Foundation has named 12 of the nation’s best collegiate and high school linebackers as Butkus Award® semifinalists for the 2023 season.

The collegiate semifinalists come from 12 different schools representing five conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC) and the FBS independents. There is one repeat semifinalist from a season ago, Ohio State’s Tommy Eichenberg. Nine different states are represented among the 12 high school semifinalists, with Virginia leading the way with three and Texas having a pair of semifinalists. The winner of each award will be named on or before Dec. 7.

The 2023 Butkus Award winners will be honored at a gala event on Jan. 27, 2024, at the Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The event will honor the legacy of namesake Dick Butkus and be supported by numerous noted NFL Alumni. Ticket and sponsorship information is available by contacting the Butkus Foundation.

Following are the semifinalist selections:

2023 Collegiate Butkus Award Semifinalists
Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State
Jaylan Ford, Texas
Cedric Gray, North Carolina
Jay Higgins, Iowa
Ty’Ron Hopper, Missouri
Curtis Jacobs, Penn State
Deontae Lawson, Alabama
Marist Liufau, Notre Dame
Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Clemson
Edefuan Ulofoshio, Washington
Nathaniel Watson, Mississippi State
Payton Wilson, NC State

2023 High School Butkus Award Semifinalists
Sammy Brown, Jefferson, Ga.
Aaron Chiles, Olney, Md.
Chris Cole, Salem, Va.
Cayden Jones, Arden, N.C.
Kris Jones, Fairfax, Va.
Payton Pierce, Allen, Texas
Brayden Platt, Yelm, Wash.
Demarcus Riddick, Clanton, Ala.
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Bellflower, Calif.
Derek Weisskopf, Williamsburg, Iowa
Justin Williams, Conroe, Texas
Bodie Kahoun, Roanoke, Va.

Founded in 1985, the Butkus Award honors linebackers at three levels while supporting causes important to the Butkus family. Causes include Butkus Takes Heart™ initiative encouraging early cardiovascular screening among adults, and the I Play Clean® initiative encouraging athletes to train naturally without performance-enhancing drugs. A 51-member expert panel of coaches, scouts and journalists guides the selection process. The Butkus Foundation has presented the high school and professional awards since 2008. The collegiate award is now in its 39th season.

The Butkus Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information.

-Via Clemon Athletic Communications 

Danny Stutsman named to Pro Football Focus’ midseason all-prospect team

The midseason accolades keep on coming for the Sooners, this time for Danny Stutsman.

The Oklahoma Sooners are off to an incredible start to the 2023 college football season on both sides of the ball. The biggest jump has been on defense

The Sooners ranked No. 122 last season, and this year, they’ve moved up to No. 50. A big part of that has been the jump [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] has made.

Stutsman has 58 tackles, 10.5 for loss, two sacks, and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown. Stutsman’s 58 tackles rank No. 16 in the nation. His 10.5 tackles for loss rank No. 5 in the nation. He leads the Big 12 in tackles and tackles for loss.

His performance this year has him square in the race for the [autotag]Butkus Award[/autotag] given to the nation’s top linebacker and also has him in the running for a consensus All-American selection.

[autotag]Pro Football Focus[/autotag] put together their midseason all-prospect team and Stutsman was one of two linebackers selected to the squad.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a player on the defensive side of the ball play at the level he’s been playing at this season. It’s attributed to the work Stutsman has put in and the coaching job of [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. Stutsman has transformed into one of the best leaders on the team.

But we are just halfway through the season, and you don’t get any awards for performing well up to this point. Something tells me Stutsman isn’t someone who will rest on his laurels the rest of the way.

With the way he’s playing, he’s on track to be a top-100 prospect in the 2024 NFL draft. The hope is he’ll hang around for one more season in Norman as the Sooners make their transition to the SEC. His toughness, physicality, leadership and performance will be difficult to replace.

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Danny Stutsman among 247Sports breakout stars in 2023

Danny Stutsman continues to put together a great season and his work isn’t going unnoticed.

The Oklahoma Sooners defense has been the talk of the town in the 2023 season. The defense currently ranks No. 2 in the nation in scoring and has allowed its fewest total points in three decades.

The head of that has been linebacker [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag]. Stutsman ranks 11th in the nation in total tackles and 5th in tackles for loss.

There’s no question he’s playing at an [autotag]All-American[/autotag] and [autotag]Butkus Award[/autotag] type of level. The season he’s put in so far isn’t going unnoticed nationally, either.

Stutsman’s season has earned him a spot on 247Sports’ list of breakout stars.

Last season, Oklahoma ranked 94th nationally last season in rushing yards allowed per play. This year, the Sooners are allowing 2.69 yards per attempt, which ranks 15th nationally. There are a lot of people you could credit with that jump, but the spark has been Danny Stutsman. The MIKE linebacker has totaled 43 tackles, 8 TFLs, 2 sacks and an interception in just four games. His PFF run grade ranks fourth nationally among all linebackers, and his 20 “stops” rank among the top 10. Stutsman had great numbers last season – a Big 12-best 125 tackles – but he, like the rest of the Sooners defense, struggled with missed tackles and had issues against the run. That’s completely turned around in 2023. Stutsman is better against the pass, too. Right now, Stutsman is the centerpiece of one of the best defensive turnarounds in college football and is the best ‘backer Oklahoma’s had in several years. – Chris Hummer 247Sports

It’s still early in the season, so we’ll see if he and the defense can continue to play at this high of a level. But if Stutsman continues to play the way he’s been, he’s definitely going to be a household name nationally by the end of the year.

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Linebacker U lands two players on Butkus Award watch list for 2023

Penn State’s top two linebackers are on the watch list for the Butkus Award in 2023.

Penn State’s long line of linebackers is well-documented at this point, and this year the Nittany Lions hope to add a Butkus Award winner to the program’s lineage. The watch list for the Butkus Award, which honors the nation’s top linebacker in college football, was released this week and a pair of Penn State’s top linebackers were named to the watch list.

Sophomore [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] and junior [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag] were each name don the watch list for the Butkus Award in 2023. Their inclusion should be no shocker given that Carter has already asserted himself as one of the top linebackers in the Big Ten and Jacobs is a sturdy veteran capable of coming up with some big moments in the Penn State defense.

Carter started six games and played in all 13 games for Penn State in 2022. He earned All-Big Ten second-team honors and was a freshman All-American for the FWAA. He led Penn State with 10.5 tackles for loss last season and he finished fourth in the Big Ten with 6.5 sacks last season.

Carter has also appeared on the watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Lott IMPACT Trophy.

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Jacobs has started in 23 of the 32 games he has played at Penn State so far and he is coming off a 2022 season where he received honorable All-Big Ten mentions from the coaches and media. Last season, Jacobs had 52 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss with four sacks. He also had two fumble recoveries and an interception returned for a touchdown.

Penn State has two all-time Butkus Award winners in school history. LaVar Arrington won the award in 1999 and Paul Posluszny won the award in 2005.

Last year’s winner of the Butkus Award was Jack Campbell of Iowa.

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Pair of Ohio State linebackers make Butkus preseason watch list

You have to think Tommy Eichenberg has a good shot at this one. #GoBucks

One of the most prestigious college football awards is the Butkus Award, presented annually to the best linebacker in the country. Ohio State has had two players honored by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando since the award’s inception in 1985, and it has a chance at adding to that in 2023.

Andy Katzenmoyer won the Butkus in 1997, and then James Laurinaitis added the award to his very full trophy case for his exploits on the field in 2007.

This year, Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers will be looking to make it a third Buckeye after they both appeared on the Butkus preseason watch list on Thursday.

We’ll continue to keep you up to speed on the Buckeyes that make all of the preseason college football award watch lists as they are made available.

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Jestin Jacobs included on preseason watch list for Butkus Award

Oregon’s Jestin Jacobs is on the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation’s best linebacker.

This is why Oregon football and Dan Lanning brought in linebacker Jestin Jacobs over from Iowa.

The Ducks had some problems with their linebacker corps a year ago, but the addition of Jacobs should help with the talent at that spot as well as depth.

Now convincing the former Hawkeye to come out to Eugene looks like an even smarter decision as Jacobs has been included on the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award. The honor goes to the best linebacker in the nation and ironically, Jacobs played alongside last year’s winner with Iowa’s Jack Campbell.

Jacobs has seemingly put his history with the injury bug behind him and the Ducks expect him to return to his 2021 form where he accumulated 53 tackles, 33 of those of the solo variety.

 

Paul Jr. added to Butkus Award watch list

Chris Paul is one of 51 players on the Butkus Award watch list which goes to the nation’s top collegiate linebacker.

Christopher ‘Pooh’ Paul Jr. is going to be a force to be reckoned with in 2023.

The rising sophomore was named to the Butkus Award watch list on Thursday.

He is one of 51 players on the list, alluding to the number 51 that Dick Butkus wore in the NFL and the namesake of the award.

Paul Jr. is coming off earning freshman All-American honors from College Football News and The Athletic as well as freshman All-SEC praise from the league’s coaches.

He compiled 62 tackles with eight of them for a loss and had four sacks, both of which were top five on the team.

The award semifinalists will likely be named by Oct. 30, with finalists to follow on Nov. 20. The winner will be named on or before Dec. 6. A 51-member expert panel of coaches, scouts and journalists is included in the selection process.

Wisconsin starting ILB makes Butkus Award watch list

More watch list news:

Wisconsin starting inside linebacker Maema Njongmeta has been in the news twice this week. First, reports broke that he had surgery on a recent hand injury and will be forced to play with a club.

Now, the Badgers’ defensive leader has made the watch list for the Butkus Award for the best linebacker in college football.

The award, which has been given out since 1985, has never been won by a Wisconsin linebacker. Notable recent winners include Iowa’s Jack Campbell, Georgia’s Nakobe Dean, Georgia’s Roquon Smith, Alabama’s Reuben Foster, Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith and Manti Te’o and Boston College’s Luke Kuechly.

Njongmeta returns to lead a Mike Tressel defense at Wisconsin that emphasizes linebacker play. Expectations should have him besting his 95-tackle, 12.5-tackle-for-loss, 3.5-sack and one-interception 2022 campaign.

LSU’s Harold Perkins and Omar Speights named to Butkus Award watch list

LSU’s Harold Perkins and Omar Speights are projected to be among the best linebackers in the country.

Few teams have a better linebacking duo than LSU’s [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag] and [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag].

The two were recognized on Thursday as both earned a spot on the Butkus Award watch list. The Butkus Award is given annually to the best linebacker in college football.

It’s no surprise. Both Perkins and Speights are expected to be all-conference defenders.

Perkins exploded onto the scene last fall as a true freshman, making plays all over the field. He’ll remain versatile this fall but could see more consistent action at inside linebacker.

Speights was one of LSU’s most prized recruits from this transfer cycle after spending the first four years of his career at Oregon State. He led all Pac-12 linebackers in stops last year according to PFF and had the best run defense grade among Pac-12 LBs with 500 or more snaps.

Speights will anchor LSU’s linebacking core as Perkins moves around in different packages. While they occupy different roles, LSU will be counting on both due to a lack of depth at inside linebacker.

Speights should only improve at LSU, where he’ll get the chance to play behind one of the best interior defensive line groups in the country.

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