Aug. 22, 2009
University of Illinois junior linebacker Martez Wilson has been named to the 35-man watch list for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's best linebacker.
Wilson enters his second season as a starter at linebacker and first in the middle. He ranked 14th in the Big Ten in tackles in 2008 and fifth in fumbles recovered. In two seasons, he has recorded 98 stops, including 8.5 for loss and five sacks. He is ranked in preseason publications as an All-Big Ten selection and earned freshman All-America honors in 2007.
Illinois has had two Butkus Award winners in Dana Howard in 1994 and Kevin Hardy in 1995. In the past three seasons, Illinois middle linebackers have led the Big Ten in total tackles and ranked among the nation's best in the category.
Instituted in 1985, The Butkus Award® is one of the elite individual honors in college football. This year, The Butkus Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, takes stewardship of the award and comes home to Chicago to fully realize the original purpose of honoring athletic achievement and service to the community while honoring the nation's best high school, college, and professional linebackers. An independent Butkus Award Selection Committee, headed by Pro Football Weekly's Hub Arkush and comprised of 51 experts including professional, college and high school scouts, and prominent sports journalists, will conduct the selection process.
Butkus Award watch list:
Pat Angerer, Iowa
Navorro Bowman, Penn State
Bruce Carter, North Carolina
Jamar Chaney, Mississippi
Justin Cole, San Jose State
Kavell Conner, Clemson
Rennie Curran, Georgia
Ryan D'Imperio, Rutgers
A.J. Edds, Iowa
Obi Ezeh, Michigan
Chris Galippo, USC
Darryl Gamble, Georgia
Dont'a Hightower, Alabama
Nate Irving, North Carolina State
Micah Johnson, Kentucky
Greg Jones, Michigan State
Sean Lee, Penn State
Travis Lewis, Oklahoma
Rolando McClain, Alabama
Mike McLaughlin, Boston College
Rod Muckelroy, Texas
Eric Norwood, South Carolina
Joe Pawelek, Baylor
Ryan Reynolds, Oklahoma
Perry Riley, LSU
Daryl Sharpton, Miami (Fla.)
Malcolm Smith, USC
Sean Spence, Miami (Fla.)
Brandon Spikes, Florida
Quan Sturdivant, North Carolina
Daryl Washington, TCU
Dekoda Watson, Florida State
Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri
Kion Wilson, South Florida
Martez Wilson, Illinois
Illinois Players on Watch Lists
John Mackey (TE) - Michael Hoomanawanui
Walter Camp (Player of the Year) - Arrelious Benn
Davey O'Brien (QB) - Juice Williams
Ted Hendricks (DE) - Doug Pilcher
Fred Biletnikoff (WR) - Arrelious Benn
Outland Trophy (Line) - Jon Asamoah
Manning Award (QB) - Juice Williams
Rotary Lombardi Award (Line/LB/TE) - Martez Wilson
Butkus (LB) - Martez Wilson
