Continuing the parade of watch list honorees, the Butkus Award announced its list on Monday, given to the nation’s top linebacker. Fifty-one players made the cut -- honoring the number 51 worn by the award’s namesake -- a group that is at once diverse and uniform.
For instance, LSU placed four players on the list -- K’Lavon Chaisson, Michael Divinity, Jr., Jacob Phillips and Patrick Queen. Baton Rouge is the current home of the Butkus Award after Devin White won it in 2018.
LSU is far from the only team to boast multiple players under the eye of the Butkus Award committee. Alabama placed three (Anfernee Jennings, Terrell Lewis and Dylan Moses), while Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Ohio State and Penn State placed two. On the flip side of that coin, nine of the 51 players hail from non-Power 5 schools, including a rare FCS appearance, from Montana’s Dante Olson. A consensus All-American and Phil Steele’s FCS Defensive Player of the Year, Olson compiled 151 tackles, 11 TFLs, six sacks, two interceptions and five passes defended in 2018.
Purdue’s Markus Bailey is a returning semifinalist, while Moses is looking to double-dip. He won the Butkus’s high school honor in 2016.
The full list:
Joe Bachie, Michigan State
Markus Bailey, Purdue
Mohamed Barry, Nebraska
Zack Baun, Wisconsin
Tuf Borland, Ohio State
Jordyn Brooks, Texas Tech
Cameron Brown, Penn State
T.J. Brunson, South Carolina
Calvin Bundage, Oklahoma State
K’Lavon Chaisson, LSU
Akeem Davis-Gaither, Appalachian State
Michael Divinity Jr., LSU
Troy Dye, Oregon
Tony Fields II, Arizona
Paddy Fisher, Northwestern
Cale Garrett, Missouri
Willie Gay Jr., Mississippi State
De’Jon Harris, Arkansas
Malik Harrison, Ohio State
Khaleke Hudson, Michigan
Dontavious Jackson, Florida State
Anfernee Jennings, Alabama
Clay Johnston, Baylor
Nate Landman, Colorado
Sage Lewis, FIU
Terrell Lewis, Alabama
Kamal Martin, Minnesota
Dylan Moses, Alabama
Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma
Dante Olson, Montana
Micah Parsons, Penn State
Jacob Phillips, LSU
Michael Pickney, Miami (Fla.)
Shaquille Quarterman, Miami (Fla.)
Patrick Queen, LSU
Chapelle Russell, Temple
Mohamed Sanogo, Mississippi
Colin Schooler, Arizona
Isaiah Simmons, Clemson
Charles Snowden, Virginia
Justin Strnad, Wake Forest
Darrell Taylor, Tennessee
Davion Taylor, Colorado
Kyahva Tezino, San Diego State
Erroll Thompson, Mississippi State
Joshua Uche, Michigan
Mykal Walker, Fresno State
Evan Weaver, California
Javin White, UNLV
Logan Wilson, Wyoming
David Woodward, Utah State