Ute LB one 4 MWC players on Butkus Award watch list

Four Mountain West Conference football student-athletes have been named to the watch list for the Butkus Award, presented annually to the nation's best collegiate linebacker. San Diego State senior Russell Allen and TCU senior Jason Phillips make their second straight appearance on the watch list. Joining Allen and Phillips among the initial 66 candidates are TCU senior Robert Henson and Utah junior Stevenson Sylvester.

Allen is the Aztecs' top returning tackler for the second consecutive season, receiving All-MWC honorable mention in 2007 after leading the Aztecs with 119 tackles, including 5.5 for loss.

Henson, a three-time all-league honorable mention, has registered at least 60 tackles each of the last three years, including 66 during the Horned Frogs' 2007 campaign.

Phillips, a three-time all-league selection, has started all 38 games in the previous three seasons. He has made 231 career tackles, which include a team-best 87 stops for TCU in 2007.

Sylvester earned all-Conference honorable mention last season after ranking second on the Utes in both tackles (86) and tackles for loss (10).

The Butkus Award®, instituted in 1985, has been given annually to the top linebacker in college football. The award, named in honor of Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, is regarded as one of the elite individual honors in college football. This year, the Butkus family has taken stewardship of the Butkus Award to fully realize its original purpose of honoring athletic achievement and service to the community. It will be presented by the Butkus Foundation on January 13, 2009, at the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago.

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.

Related topics