Butkus Award
| Awarded for | Given to the best linebackers at thehigh school,collegiateandprofessionallevels offootball |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando (1985–2007) Butkus Foundation (2008–present) |
| History | |
| First award | 1985 |
| Most recent |
|
| Website | http:// thebutkusaward / |
TheButkus Award,instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the toplinebackersat thehigh school,collegiateandprofessionallevels offootball.The award, named in honor ofCollege Football Hall of FameandPro Football Hall of FamelinebackerDick 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 endanabolic steroidabuse among young athletes. Three players have won both the high school and collegiate Butkus Awards:Notre DamelinebackersManti Te'o(2008, 2012) andJaylon Smith(2012, 2015) and alsoGeorgialinebackerNakobe Dean(2018, 2021). Four players have won both the collegiate and professional Butkus Awards: San Francisco 49ers linebackerPatrick Willis(2006, 2009), Denver Broncos linebackerVon Miller(2010, 2012), Carolina Panthers linebackerLuke Kuechly(2011, 2014, 2015, 2017), and Baltimore Ravens linebackerRoquan Smith(2017, 2022, 2023).
Recipients
[edit]Collegiate winners
[edit]Professional winners
[edit]
High school winners
[edit]| 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, TN) |
| 2021 | Shawn Murphy[11] | Unity Reed High School(Manassas, VA) |
| 2022 | Drayk Bowen | Andrean High School(Merrillville, IN) |
| 2023 | Sammy Brown | Jefferson High School (Jefferson, GA) |
References
[edit]- ^Schmadtke, Alan (April 29, 2008)."Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando relinquishes rights to the Dick Butkus Award".Orlando Sentinel.RetrievedApril 8,2018.
- ^abArcher, Todd (January 9, 2009)."Dallas Cowboys' Ware wins Butkus Award".Dallasnews: the Dallas Morning News website.Belo Corporation. Archived fromthe originalon June 29, 2011.RetrievedJanuary 11,2009.
- ^Skrbina, Paul (December 8, 2015)."Notre Dame's Jaylon Smith named Butkus Award winner".Chicago Tribune.RetrievedAugust 6,2017.
- ^Potter, Charlie (December 5, 2016)."Alabama LB Reuben Foster named 2016 Butkus Award winner".CBS Sports.RetrievedAugust 6,2017.
- ^Lentz, Zach (December 8, 2019)."Simmons Wins 2019 Butkus Award".si.Sports Illustrated.RetrievedDecember 8,2019.
- ^OleMissSports: Willis Wins Butkus Award As Collegian And ProArchivedJanuary 5, 2009, at theWayback Machine
- ^abcdefghijkl"Past Winners".thebutkusaward.
- ^"Former BC great Kuechly wins second Butkus Award".Fox Sports.May 12, 2015.RetrievedAugust 6,2017.
- ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 2017-08-06.Retrieved2017-06-14.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^Finley, Patrick (June 4, 2019)."Bears OLB Khalil Mack wins pro Butkus Award".Chicago Sun-Times.RetrievedJune 4,2019.
- ^Pascal, Evan (7 December 2021)."Prince William County's Shawn Murphy wins Butkus Award as nation's top prep linebacker".WJLA.Retrieved4 April2022.