The 27th annual collegiate Butkus Award selection process to identify the best linebackers in the country began Thursday with the announcement of the preseason watch list for both the collegiate and high school levels.
Each watch list contains 51 candidates, honoring the now-retired professional jersey number of Dick Butkus, who is regarded by NFL Films as the best defensive player in football history. The selection panel is comprised of 51 coaches, evaluators and journalists, coordinated by Hub Arkush Weekly.
The Collegiate Butkus Award list includes 51 candidates from 40 universities across 10 conferences. Boston College's Luke Kuechly is the only returning finalist. Returning semifinalists include; Alabama's Dont'a Hightower, Miami (Fla.)'s Sean Spence, Oklahoma's Travis Lewis, Texas' Keenan Robinson and Notre Dame's Manti Te'o.
The High School Butkus Award watch list includes 51 candidates from 49 high schools across 19 states. The Butkus Award for high schools is in its fourth year, with previous honorees playing at Notre Dame (Manti Te'o), Texas (Jordan Hicks) and Clemson (Tony Steward.
Semifinalists will be named Oct. 24, finalists Nov. 22, and winners will be notified on or before Dec. 7. The NFL award will be announced in January 2012.
Last season's Butkus Award winners included: Packers OLB Clay Matthews, Texas A&M's Von Miller and Tony Steward of St. Augustine, Fla., who is on scholarship at Clemson.
The Butkus Award, www.thebutkusaward.com or www.facebook.com/51.butkus, is presented by the Butkus Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization. It is part of the National College Football Awards Association, a coalition of the major collegiate awards. More information is available at www.NCFAA.org.
Source: http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/07/15/butkus-award-watch-lists-announced
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