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 recent
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. Three players have won both the high school and collegiate Butkus Awards: Notre Dame linebackers Manti Te'o (2008, 2012) and Jaylon Smith (2012, 2015) and also Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean (2018, 2021). Four players have won both the collegiate and professional Butkus Awards: San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis (2006, 2009), Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller (2010, 2012), Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly (2011, 2014, 2015, 2017), and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith (2017, 2022)

Recipients

Collegiate winners

YearPlayerSchool
1985Brian BosworthOklahoma
1986Brian BosworthOklahoma (2)
1987Paul McGowanFlorida State
1988Derrick ThomasAlabama
1989Percy SnowMichigan State
1990Alfred WilliamsColorado
1991Erick AndersonMichigan
1992Marvin JonesFlorida State (2)
1993Trev AlbertsNebraska
1994Dana HowardIllinois
1995Kevin HardyIllinois (2)
1996Matt RussellColorado (2)
1997Andy KatzenmoyerOhio State
1998Chris ClaiborneUSC
1999LaVar ArringtonPenn State
2000Dan MorganMiami
2001Rocky CalmusOklahoma (3)
2002E. J. HendersonMaryland
2003Teddy LehmanOklahoma (4)
2004Derrick JohnsonTexas
2005Paul PoslusznyPenn State (2)
2006Patrick WillisOle Miss
2007James LaurinaitisOhio State (2)
2008Aaron CurryWake Forest
2009Rolando McClainAlabama (2)
2010Von MillerTexas A&M
2011Luke KuechlyBoston College
2012Manti Te'oNotre Dame
2013C.J. MosleyAlabama (3)
2014Eric KendricksUCLA
2015Jaylon Smith[3]Notre Dame (2)
2016Reuben Foster[4]Alabama (4)
2017Roquan SmithGeorgia
2018Devin WhiteLSU
2019Isaiah Simmons[5]Clemson
2020Jeremiah Owusu-KoramoahNotre Dame (3)
2021Nakobe DeanGeorgia (2)
2022Jack CampbellIowa
2023Payton WilsonNC State

Professional winners

Luke Kuechly holds the record for most wins by a player with four awards (one in college and three in the pros).
YearPlayerTeam
2008DeMarcus Ware[2]Dallas Cowboys
2009Patrick Willis[6]San Francisco 49ers
2010Clay Matthews III[7]Green Bay Packers
2011Terrell Suggs[7]Baltimore Ravens
DeMarcus Ware[7]Dallas Cowboys
2012Von Miller[7]Denver Broncos
2013NaVorro Bowman[7]San Francisco 49ers
2014Luke Kuechly[8]Carolina Panthers
2015Luke Kuechly[7]Carolina Panthers
2016Khalil Mack[9]Oakland Raiders
2017Luke Kuechly[7]Carolina Panthers
2018Khalil Mack[10]Chicago Bears
2019Chandler Jones[7]Arizona Cardinals
2020T. J. Watt[7]Pittsburgh Steelers
2021Micah Parsons[7]Dallas Cowboys
2022Roquan Smith[7]Baltimore Ravens

High school winners

YearPlayerSchool
2008Manti Te'oPunahou School (Honolulu, HI)
2009Jordan HicksLakota West High School (West Chester, OH)
2010Tony StewardPedro Menendez High School (St. Augustine, FL)
2011Noor DavisLeesburg High School (Leesburg, FL)
2012Jaylon SmithBishop Luers High School (Fort Wayne, IN)
2013Raekwon McMillanLiberty County High School (Hinesville, GA)
2014Malik JeffersonRalph H. Poteet High School (Mesquite, TX)
2015Caleb KellyClovis West High School (Fresno, CA)
2016Dylan MosesIMG Academy (Bradenton, FL)
2017Solomon TuliaupupuMater Dei High School (Santa Ana, CA)
2018Nakobe DeanHorn Lake High School (Horn Lake, MS)
2019Justin FloweUpland High School (Upland, CA)
2020Prince KollieDavid Crockett High School (Jonesborough, TN)
2021Shawn Murphy[11]Unity Reed High School (Manassas, VA)
2022Drayk BowenAndrean High School (Merrillville, IN)

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. 1 2 Archer, Todd (January 9, 2009). "Dallas Cowboys' Ware wins Butkus Award". Dallasnews.com: the Dallas Morning News website. Belo Corporation. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Past Winners". www.thebutkusaward.com.
  8. ↑ "Former BC great Kuechly wins second Butkus Award". Fox Sports. May 12, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-08-06. Retrieved 2017-06-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ↑ Finley, Patrick (June 4, 2019). "Bears OLB Khalil Mack wins pro Butkus Award". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  11. ↑ Pascal, Evan (7 December 2021). "Prince William County's Shawn Murphy wins Butkus Award as nation's top prep linebacker". WJLA. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
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