Another Monday, another watch list that Irish linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah appears in.
For the second Monday in a row, Irish linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, JOK, has been placed into elite company making another watch list. This time it is the Butkus Award, which is given to the nation’s best linebacker. This honor is on the heels of last Monday when JOK was put on the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list as well.
Owusu-Koramoah has a lot to play for in his senior year, as we previewed him here last week, which includes a potential selection in the first round of the NFL Draft. There is a ton of hype surrounding JOK and if he wins the Butkus, he would become the 3rd Irish linebacker to achieve that status following Jaylon Smith in 2015 and Manti Te’o in 2012. Smith’s season had him finish with 114 tackles and a sack while Te’o has 111 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
The competition will be tough for JOK to take home this award in the 2020 season as Penn State’s Micah Parsons, Alabama’s Dylan Moses and others have gotten significant pre-season hype as well. If JOK can up his tackle numbers from 79 to over 100 and keep the 8.5 sacks or even improve on those number, we can very well see Owusu-Koramoah being named the best linebacker in college this coming season.
Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith was a big-time recruit and the best one eye for talent in the mid-west has ever seen.
A fun question I always enjoy is, is “who is the best high school football player you ever saw play in person?”
That doesn’t mean who had the body to go play at a D-1 powerhouse, it’s as simple as who was the best player at the high school level that you ever spent a Friday night in the fall watching? Think about that for a minute, I’ll share mine at the bottom.
He was one of those guys where, if you just saw him warm-up, you had almost seen enough. He was so fluid and naturally athletic. He was at a Sound Mind camp and ran through one drill and a bunch of big schools offered him off of just running around some cones. The Fort Wayne (Ind.) Bishop Luers star would go to camps and play cornerback and he played defensive back in some 7-on-7s and he wasn’t just out there doing it, he excelled at it. I struggle to think of any other midwest prospect that had that kind of jaw-dropping natural athleticism. Had he not gotten injured at Notre Dame, he was going to be a top 3-5 pick and even though the injury moved him out of the first round, he is now showing what a freak he is that even after that serious of an injury. He is now starting and excelling in the NFL.
Smith was as talented of player as I’ve seen wear blue and gold since I started watching games in the early nineties. I’m also left a little bit in wonder, not because of his injury and how high he may have wound up being drafted, but I’d have loved to see Clark Lea get his hands on him as a player instead of spending the time he did with Brian Van Gorder.
With that said, it’s not like Smith struggled. He racked up 284 tackles, 23.5 sacks, an interception, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and five passes defended in his three years at Notre Dame. He also walked out of 2015 as a Consensus All-American and winner of the Butkus Award for being the nation’s best linebacker.
He was great, but I wonder how much greater things could have been in 2015 had someone else been calling the defense.
…now back to the question I asked at the start of this:
Mike Goolsby (Joliet Catholic/Notre Dame), JR Zierwynski (Joliet Catholic/Penn State) and Eric Steinbach (Providence (New Lenox, IL), Iowa) are all on the very short list but a guy who never played a down of college football was my all-timer, that being John Dergo of Morris, Illinois. I can’t find any highlights of him unfortunately but what he did against Joliet Catholic in the IHSA Playoffs in 2005 is the stuff of legend. Now let me know yours – leave a comment here or send me a tweet @NickShepkowski.
Georgia football: It’s LeCounte Time in Athens. Richard LeCounte III is the key candidate for Kirby’s top Dawg at UGA.
Richard LeCounte III, his name always reminded me of the dark antagonists of the vampire books I read as a teenage. I envisioned “The Count” swooping in to make a plethora of interceptions and fumble recoveries at UGA, back when he was in high school, but committed to Georgia. Upon arrival in Athens, head coach Kirby Smart played LeCounte early but rode him hard, publicly. Smart said he could play better, was maturing through growing pains, called for LeCounte to become a better leader for the defense, even as a true sophomore. Coming off a career-high two interceptions in the Sugar Bowl to conclude his junior year, before announcing his intention to return for his senior season, LeCounte is the key candidate to be Kirby’s top Dawg.
Jan 1, 2020; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Richard LeCounte (2) is tackled by Baylor Bears wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (81) after an interception in the first quarter at the Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
The (5-11, 190) average, at best, size for a safety that LeCounte possesses belies his actual physicality as a tackler. He is less a Greg Blue-type knockout specialist and more just a sure tackler; positioning football is a key strength of his game. I found him, as a college player, to be more sound in disciplined technique and less explosive ballhawk.
But, his time is not up. I would still love to see the ball end up in his hands more, like I did in the SEC championship game two years ago versus Alabama. His goal line takeaway turned the tide early, Georgia keeping that positive momentum for most of the rest of the football game.
Back in December 2016, LeCounte earned All-USA First Team, putting up huge takeaway numbers on defense and starring on offense. His basketball team also won state, while he was the Georgia player of the year for their classification level, at Liberty County in Riceboro, Ga. He’s an athlete.
While LeCounte has played since his freshman year, he was still somewhat in the shadow of J.R. Reed in the safety platoon at UGA in 2019. Reed, a true field general under Smart and seemingly another coach on the field, more than any of the 2020 returning defenders, netted the top defense in the country, with his execution and leadership. Reed is off to the pros.
Oct 7, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs defensive back J.R. Reed (20) makes a tackle during the second half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
At the start of every home football game at Sanford Stadium, a lone horn blows from the stands. Like that lone horn is meant to be emblematic of the birthplace of American public higher education, the University of Georgia (1785) and her old football program, a singular leader must arise in full.
Georgia has had a clear processional of excellent leaders on defense throughout the Smart era, fully demonstrating the defensive genius of Smart.
In 2016, Smart brought in Maurice Smith with him from Alabama, as a grad transfer safety. Smart clearly coveting a player he knew from personal experience that he could trust, particularly with in-game communication. Alabama coach Nick Saban actually attempted to block Smith’s immediate eligibility, since they anticipated potentially facing UGA soon. At the time, the SEC still asked graduating players to sit out a year if they went to a rival league school. That did not happen. Now that graduate transfers are quite commonplace, the process has been streamlined for the players and schools.
In UGA’s national runner-up year of 2017, Roquan Smith was in my opinion the single best defender in the country, winning the school’s first ever Butkus Award, from his middle linebacker position as top national linebacker.
Jan 1, 2018; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) attempts to avoid a tackle by Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Roquan Smith (3) during the third quarter of the 2018 Rose Bowl college football playoff semifinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
In 2018, cornerback Deandre Baker led the defense, as he captured the school’s first ever Thorpe Award, as the best defensive back in the nation.
Jan 8, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Deandre Baker (18) makes an interception against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the third quarter in the 2018 CFP national championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
With safety J.R. Reed handing the baton after an excellent senior campaign, it’s Richard LeCounte III’s time to shine in Athens.
Kuechly and Boston College went 0-3 in three games against Notre Dame between 2009 and 2011. However, Kuechly’s stat-line in those three games was incredibly consistent.
The biggest story in the NFL this week aside from preparation for the AFC and NFC Conference Championship games has been the sudden decision by Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly to retire.
Kuechly was a terror for the Panthers, twice leading the league in tackles while averaging 136.5 per season for his eight year career, intercepting 18 passes in his career and averaging more than half a tackle-for-loss each game he suited up for.
His NFL resume includes seven Pro Bowl selections, five appearances as a first-team All-Pro, three Butkus Awards and he was the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year.
It’s easy to forget but in no way a surprise, Kuechly was a monster on an otherwise entirely-forgettable Boston College team that went 19-19 in his three seasons in Chestnut Hill (2009-11).
During his time at BC, Kuechly walked away with the 2011 ACC Defensive Player of the Year award, as well as the Bronco Nagurski, Butkus, Lombardi and Lott Trophy Awards the same season. To boot he was a two-time Consensus All-American.
Kuechly and Boston College went 0-3 in three games against Notre Dame between 2009 and 2011. However, Kuechly’s stat-line in those three games was incredibly consistent.
Justin Flowe, a five-star player out of Upland High School, was named the Butkus Award recipient for top high school linebacker.
Chosen 25 linebacker Justin Flowe, one of the top defensive high school football players in the country, has joined elite company.
Flowe was named the recipient of the Butkus Award given to the top high school linebacker each year.
The Upland (California) High School five-star player had 135 tackles and 12 sacks this season, according to the Butkus Award committee in a press release announcing the winner. Over his four-year high school career, Flowe had 446 tackles and 26 sacks.
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He was named the winner over the other finalists including Mekhail Sherman of St. Johns College High School (Washington, DC), Antoine Sampah of Woodbridge (Virginia), Jordan Botelho of Saint Louis School (Honolulu) and Jackson Bratton of Muscle Shoals (Alabama).
“Flowe is a special athlete with excellent speed, striking ability, instincts, tackling range and cover skill,” the Butkus committee said in the press release. “He is a disruptive force and impact player in one of the most competitive and talented areas for prep football in the country.”
Flowe, ranked the No. 9 player in the Chosen 25, has 39 college offers, according to 247Sports. His top four schools are Georgia, Clemson, Oregon and Miami.
He will take part in the All-American Bowl on Jan. 4.
A two-year starter, outside linebacker Zack Baun is starting to receive more accolades in his final season as a Badger.
The recognition keeps coming for Badgers senior outside linebacker Zack Baun, who on Monday morning was named a finalist for the Butkus Award, given to the best linebacker in the country.
One of six finalists for the award, which is named after the legendary Dick Butkus, Baun has earned this recognition by showing that he can do a bit of everything this season.
On the year, Baun has 53 tackles and 9.5 sacks. In addition, he has two forced fumbles, two pass break ups, and an interception for a touchdown, creating multiple turnovers which are a key stat for the next level.
Baun, along with Penn State’s Micah Parsons, are the only two finalists from the loaded Big Ten conference.
After just celebrating Senior Day, Baun has a huge matchup with Minnesota next week to look forward to, for the Badgers’ final game of the regular season.
The winner of the award will be presented on December 12, as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show.
