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]
| Awarded for | Given to the best linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando (1985–2007) Butkus Foundation (2008–present) |
| History | |
| First award | 1985 |
| Most recent |
|
| Website | https://www.thebutkusaward.com/ |
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, 2023).
Recipients
editCollegiate winners
editProfessional 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. Archived from the original on January 21, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Skrbina, Paul (December 8, 2015). "Notre Dame's Jaylon Smith named Butkus Award winner". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- ^ Potter, Charlie (December 5, 2016). "Alabama LB Reuben Foster named 2016 Butkus Award winner". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- ^ Lentz, Zach (December 8, 2019). "Simmons Wins 2019 Butkus Award". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- ^ OleMissSports.com: Willis Wins Butkus Award As Collegian And Pro Archived January 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Past Winners". www.thebutkusaward.com.
- ^ "Former BC great Kuechly wins second Butkus Award". Fox Sports. May 12, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-08-06. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
{{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. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ 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.