The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, 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 following a lawsuit by Butkus.
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. Three players have won both the high school and collegiate Butkus Awards: Notre Dame linebackers Manti Te'o (2008, 2012) and Jaylon Smith (2012, 2015) and also Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean (2018, 2021). Five players have won both the collegiate and professional Butkus Awards: San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis (2006, 2009), Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller (2010, 2012), Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly (2011, 2014, 2015, 2017), Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith (2017, 2022, 2023), and Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (2022, 2025).
Recipients Collegiate winners Year Player School Ref. 1985 Oklahoma 1986 (2) Oklahoma (2) 1987 Florida State 1988 Alabama 1989 Michigan State 1990 Colorado 1991 Michigan 1992 Florida State (2) 1993 Nebraska 1994 Illinois 1995 Illinois (2) 1996 Colorado (2) 1997 Ohio State 1998 USC 1999 Penn State 2000 Miami (FL) 2001 Oklahoma (3) 2002 Maryland 2003 Oklahoma (4) 2004 Texas 2005 Penn State (2) 2006 Ole Miss 2007 Ohio State (2) 2008 Wake Forest 2009 Alabama (2) 2010 Texas A&M 2011 Boston College 2012 Notre Dame 2013 Alabama (3) 2014 UCLA 2015 Notre Dame (2) 2016 Alabama (4) 2017 Georgia 2018 LSU 2019 Clemson 2020 Notre Dame (3) 2021 Georgia (2) 2022 Iowa 2023 NC State 2024 Georgia (3) 2025 Texas Tech
Professional winners
Season Player Team Ref. Dallas Cowboys San Francisco 49ers OleMissSports.com: Willis Wins Butkus Award As Collegian And Pro Green Bay Packers Baltimore Ravens (2) Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos San Francisco 49ers Carolina Panthers (2) Carolina Panthers Oakland Raiders (3) Carolina Panthers (2) Chicago Bears Arizona Cardinals Pittsburgh Steelers Dallas Cowboys Baltimore Ravens (2) Baltimore Ravens Philadelphia Eagles Detroit Lions
High school winners Year Player School 2008 Manti Teʻo Punahou(Honolulu, HI) 2009 Jordan Hicks Lakota West(West Chester, OH) 2010 Tony Steward Pedro Menendez(St. Augustine, FL) 2011 Noor Davis Leesburg(Leesburg, FL) 2012 Jaylon Smith Bishop Luers(Fort Wayne, IN) 2013 Raekwon McMillan Liberty County(Hinesville, GA) 2014 Malik Jefferson Ralph H. Poteet(Mesquite, TX) 2015 Caleb Kelly Clovis West(Fresno, CA) 2016 Dylan Moses IMG(Bradenton, FL) 2017 Solomon Tuliaupupu Mater Dei(Santa Ana, CA) 2018 Nakobe Dean Horn Lake(Horn Lake, MS) 2019 Justin Flowe Upland(Upland, CA) 2020 Prince Kollie David Crockett(Jonesborough, TN) 2021 Shawn Murphy Unity Reed(Manassas, VA) 2022 Drayk Bowen Andrean(Merrillville, IN) 2023 Sammy Brown Jefferson(Jefferson, GA) 2024 Christian Jones Westside(Omaha, NE) 2025 Tyler Atkinson Grayson(Loganville, GA)
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