Courtesy of the Butkus Award
CHICAGO – Finalists were named today for the 25th Annual Butkus Award® honoring the nation’s top football linebackers.
The five Butkus Award collegiate finalists include three candidates from the SEC conference and two from the Big 12 conference:
• Rolando McClain, Alabama
• Sergia Kindle, Texas
• Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri
• Brandon Spikes, Florida
• Eric Norwood, South Carolina
McClain, Weatherspoon and Spikes were finalists in 2008.
Winners are expected to be announced on or before December 8, 2009. More information is available at www.thebutkusaward.com
The Butkus Award is selected by a 51-person panel comprised mostly of scouts, coaches and journalists, and coordinated by Hub Arkush of Pro Football Weekly. Selectors follow all rules of their leagues. Individual votes remain completely confidential.
The Butkus Award is named after Dick Butkus, who is considered one of the greatest football players in history. Butkus was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, following an illustrious career with the Chicago Bears, University of Illinois and Chicago Vocational School. Butkus and his son Matt want the Award to draw attention to the I Play Cleanâ„¢ campaign, which aims to end steroid use in organized sports. More information is available at www.iplayclean.org
The Butkus Award is part of the National College Football Awards Association, a coalition of the major collegiate awards. More information is available at www.NCFAA.org.