Butkus Award

Butkus Award
Awarded for	Given to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football
Presented by	Butkus Foundation
Country	United States
First awarded	1985
Currently held by	Clay Matthews III: Pro Luke Kuechly: College Noor Davis: High School
Official website	http://www.thebutkusaward.com/

The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985, 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.

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 as part of a makeover by the Butkus family to help end anabolic steroid abuse among young athletes.

Patrick Willis is the only player to receive the Butkus Award in more than one category. He won the college Butkus Award in 2006 while at Ole Miss. In 2009, he won the professional Butkus Award while with the San Francisco 49ers.

Recipients

Professional winners

Year	Player	Team
2008	DeMarcus Ware	Dallas Cowboys
2009	Patrick Willis	San Francisco 49ers
2010	Clay Matthews III	Green Bay Packers

Collegiate winners

Year	Player	School
1985	Brian Bosworth	Oklahoma
1986	Brian Bosworth	Oklahoma
1987	Paul McGowan	Florida State
1988	Derrick Thomas	Alabama
1989	Percy Snow	Michigan State
1990	Alfred Williams	Colorado
1991	Erick Anderson	Michigan
1992	Marvin Jones	Florida State
1993	Trev Alberts	Nebraska
1994	Dana Howard	Illinois
1995	Kevin Hardy	Illinois
1996	Matt Russell	Colorado
1997	Andy Katzenmoyer	Ohio State
1998	Chris Claiborne	USC
1999	LaVar Arrington	Penn State
2000	Dan Morgan	Miami
2001	Rocky Calmus	Oklahoma
2002	E.J. Henderson	Maryland
2003	Teddy Lehman	Oklahoma
2004	Derrick Johnson	Texas
2005	Paul Posluszny	Penn State
2006	Patrick Willis	Ole Miss
2007	James Laurinaitis	Ohio State
2008	Aaron Curry	Wake Forest
2009	Rolando McClain	Alabama
2010	Von Miller	Texas A&M
2011	Luke Kuechly	Boston College

High school winners

Year	Player	School
2008	Manti Teʻo	Punahou School (Honolulu, HI)
2009	Jordan Hicks	Lakota West H.S. (West Chester, OH)
2010	Tony Steward	Pedro Menendez High School (St. Augustine, FL)
2011	Noor Davis	Leesburg High School (Leesburg, FL)

Team and institutional breakdown of recipients

Trophies won by professional team

Team	Winners
Dallas Cowboys	1
San Francisco 49ers	1
Green Bay Packers	1

Trophies won by college

School	Winners
Oklahoma	4
Alabama	2
Colorado	2
Florida State	2
Illinois	2
Ohio State	2
Penn State	2
Boston College	1
Maryland	1
Miami	1
Michigan	1
Michigan State	1
Nebraska	1
Ole Miss	1
Texas	1
Texas A&M	1
USC	1
Wake Forest	1

Trophies won by high school

School	Winners
Punahou School	1
Lakota West H.S.	1
Leesburg High School	1
Pedro Menendez H.S.	1

External links

• Butkus Award official website
• Butkus Foundation official website