Aug. 17, 2010
University of Illinois junior linebacker Martez Wilson has been named to the 51-man watch list for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's best linebacker.
Wilson, who also was named to last year's Butkus Award Watch list, had nine tackles in the 2009 season-opener against Missouri before suffering a herniated disc in his neck, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season. He is now healthy and ready to go for his junior campaign after being granted a medical hardship waiver for 2009.
As a sophomore in 2008, Wilson ranked 14th in the Big Ten in tackles and fifth in fumbles recovered. In two-plus seasons, he has recorded 107 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.
The award is named after Fighting Illini great Dick Butkus, who was an All-American at Illinois in 1963 and '64 and is generally considered the greatest linebacker in football history. Illinois has had two Butkus Award winners in Dana Howard in 1994 and Kevin Hardy in 1995.
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. For more information visit TheButkusAward.com.
Butkus Award watch list:
Akeem Ayers, UCLA
Nick Bellore, Central Michigan
Chris Borland, Wisconsin
Vontaze Burfict, Arizona State
Josh Bynes, Auburn
Tank Carder, TCU
Bruce Carter, North Carolina
Jonathan Cornell, Mississippi
Quentin Davie, Northwestern
Brian Duncan, Texas Tech
Mason Foster, Washington
Jerry Franklin, Arkansas
Chris Galippo, USC
Mark Herzlich, Boston College
Dont'a Hightower, Alabama
Doug Hogue, Syracuse
Ross Homan, Ohio State
Justin Houston, Georgia
Nate Irving, North Carolina State
Nico Johnson, Alabama
Greg Jones, Michigan State
Elijah Joseph, Temple
Thomas Keiser, Stanford
Luke Kuechly, Boston College
Travis Lewis, Oklahoma
Greg Lloyd, Connecticut
Scott Lutrus, Connecticut
Chris Marve, Vanderbilt
Casey Matthews, Oregon
Colin McCarthy, Miami (Fla.)
Von Miller, Texas A&M
Mike Mohamed, California
Adrian Moten, Maryland
Jonas Mouton, Michigan
Kevin Reddick, North Carolina
Keenan Robinson, Texas
Brian Rolle, Ohio State
Kelvin Sheppard, LSU
Brian Smith, Notre Dame
Derrell Smith, Syracuse
D.J. Smith, Appalachian State
Sean Spence, Miami (Fla.)
Craig Stevens, Auburn
Quan Sturdivant, North Carolina
Manti Te'o, Notre Dame
Chris White, Mississippi State
Korey Williams, Southern Mississippi
Martez Wilson, Illinois
Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut
K.J. Wright, Mississippi State
Alex Wujciak, Maryland
