As we get to the last award pre-season watch list of the year, we find that seven ACC players are on the Butkus list. The Butkus Award is given out every year to the best college football linebacker in the country.
There are 51 players on the watch list in total. There are 51 players on the initial list every year. Why? Dick Butkus, the award’s namesake, wore #51.
Seven From the ACC
The ACC players who made the pre-season watch list are:
Barrett Carter, Clemson, Senior
Francisco Mauigoa, Miami, Senior
Power Echols, North Carolina, Senior
Sean Brown, NC State, Redshirt Junior
Gaethan Bernadel, Stanford, Senior
Marlowe Wax, Syracuse, Senior
Sam Brumfield, Virginia Tech, Redshirt Senior
Last year’s winner was from the ACC; North Carolina State’s Payton Wilson. Other players can be added to the list as the season progresses.
The Specifics
The selection committee is also made up of 51 voters. But the panel comprises a wider swath of people in the football community. The Butkus panel not only includes college football media and coaches from around the country. But it also has NFL general managers, player personnel directors, NFL media members, and scouts from NFL teams.
The award’s mission statement says the Butkus Foundation supports several health and wellness activities including the “I Play Clean” anti-steroid program.
The semifinalists for the 40th award are scheduled to be announced on November 4. The finalists will be named on November 25. The winner will be named on December 10th. In past year’s Butkus has shown up at the winner’s campus to make the announcement and give the trophy.
There are also Butkus Award winners named at the high school and the pro football levels. There is a ceremony after the beginning of the year for all the winners, (high school, college, and pro), at Butkus’ alma mater, the University of Illinois. That event will be carried on the Big 10 Network.
The list of the 51 players who made it on the watch list can be found here.
