Butkus Award

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Butkus Award
Awarded forGiven to the best linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football
CountryUnited States
Presented byDowntown Athletic Club of Orlando (1985–2007)
Butkus Foundation (2008–present)
History
First award1985
Most recentCollege: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Pro: Chandler Jones
High School: Prince Kollie
Websitehttp://www.thebutkusaward.com/

The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, is presented by the Butkus Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports a number of health and wellness activities including the "I Play Clean" anti-steroid program. The award was first established by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, which relinquished control of the award in 2008 following a lawsuit by Butkus.[1]

Traditionally, the award was given only to the top collegiate linebacker. The Butkus Award was expanded in 2008 to include high school and professional winners[2] as part of a makeover by the Butkus family to help end anabolic steroid abuse among young athletes. Two players have won both the high school and collegiate Butkus Awards: Notre Dame linebackers Manti Te'o (2008, 2012) and Jaylon Smith (2012, 2015). Three players have won both the collegiate and professional Butkus Awards: former linebacker Patrick Willis (2006, 2009), Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller (2010, 2012), and Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly (2011, 2014, 2015, 2017)

Recipients[]

Collegiate winners[]

Year Player School
1985 Brian Bosworth Oklahoma
1986 Brian Bosworth Oklahoma
1987 Paul McGowan Florida State
1988 Derrick Thomas Alabama
1989 Percy Snow Michigan State
1990 Alfred Williams Colorado
1991 Erick Anderson Michigan
1992 Marvin Jones Florida State
1993 Trev Alberts Nebraska
1994 Dana Howard Illinois
1995 Kevin Hardy Illinois
1996 Matt Russell Colorado
1997 Andy Katzenmoyer Ohio State
1998 Chris Claiborne USC
1999 LaVar Arrington Penn State
2000 Dan Morgan Miami
2001 Rocky Calmus Oklahoma
2002 E. J. Henderson Maryland
2003 Teddy Lehman Oklahoma
2004 Derrick Johnson Texas
2005 Paul Posluszny Penn State
2006 Patrick Willis Ole Miss
2007 James Laurinaitis Ohio State
2008 Aaron Curry Wake Forest
2009 Rolando McClain Alabama
2010 Von Miller Texas A&M
2011 Luke Kuechly Boston College
2012 Manti Te'o Notre Dame
2013 C.J. Mosley Alabama
2014 Eric Kendricks UCLA
2015 Jaylon Smith[3] Notre Dame
2016 Reuben Foster[4] Alabama
2017 Roquan Smith Georgia
2018 Devin White LSU
2019 Isaiah Simmons[5] Clemson
2020 Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah Notre Dame

Professional winners[]

Luke Kuechly holds the record for most wins by a player with four awards (one in college and three in the pros).
Year Player Team
2008 DeMarcus Ware[2] Dallas Cowboys
2009 Patrick Willis[6] San Francisco 49ers
2010 Clay Matthews III Green Bay Packers
2011 Terrell Suggs Baltimore Ravens
DeMarcus Ware Dallas Cowboys
2012 Von Miller Denver Broncos
2013 NaVorro Bowman San Francisco 49ers
2014 Luke Kuechly[7] Carolina Panthers
2015 Luke Kuechly Carolina Panthers
2016 Khalil Mack[8] Oakland Raiders
2017 Luke Kuechly Carolina Panthers
2018 Khalil Mack[9] Chicago Bears
2019 Chandler Jones Arizona Cardinals

High school winners[]

Year Player School
2008 Manti Te'o Punahou School (Honolulu, HI)
2009 Jordan Hicks Lakota West High School (West Chester, OH)
2010 Tony Steward Pedro Menendez High School (St. Augustine, FL)
2011 Noor Davis Leesburg High School (Leesburg, FL)
2012 Jaylon Smith Bishop Luers High School (Fort Wayne, IN)
2013 Raekwon McMillan Liberty County High School (Hinesville, GA)
2014 Malik Jefferson Ralph H. Poteet High School (Mesquite, TX)
2015 Caleb Kelly Clovis West High School (Fresno, CA)
2016 Dylan Moses IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL)
2017 Solomon Tuliaupupu Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, CA)
2018 Nakobe Dean Horn Lake High School (Horn Lake, MS)
2019 Justin Flowe Upland High School (Upland, CA)
2020 Prince Kollie David Crockett High School (Jonesborough, Tennessee)

References[]

  1. ^ Schmadtke, Alan (April 29, 2008). "Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando relinquishes rights to the Dick Butkus Award". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Archer, Todd (January 9, 2009). "Dallas Cowboys' Ware wins Butkus Award". Dallasnews.com: the Dallas Morning News website. Belo Corporation. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
  3. ^ Skrbina, Paul (December 8, 2015). "Notre Dame's Jaylon Smith named Butkus Award winner". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  4. ^ Potter, Charlie (December 5, 2016). "Alabama LB Reuben Foster named 2016 Butkus Award winner". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  5. ^ Lentz, Zach (December 8, 2019). "Simmons Wins 2019 Butkus Award". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  6. ^ OleMissSports.com: Willis Wins Butkus Award As Collegian And Pro Archived January 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Former BC great Kuechly wins second Butkus Award". Fox Sports. May 12, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  8. ^ http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/khalil-mack-receives-pro-butkus-awardr-2221970.htm
  9. ^ "Bears OLB Khalil Mack wins pro Butkus Award". Chicago Sun-Times. June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.

External links[]

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