# Butkus Award

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). Four 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), and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith (2017, 2022, 2023).

## Recipients
### Collegiate winners

| Year | Player | School |
| 1985 | Brian Bosworth | Oklahoma |
| 1986 | Brian Bosworth | Oklahoma (2) |
| 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 (2) |
| 1993 | Trev Alberts | Nebraska |
| 1994 | Dana Howard | Illinois |
| 1995 | Kevin Hardy | Illinois (2) |
| 1996 | Matt Russell | Colorado (2) |
| 1997 | Andy Katzenmoyer | Ohio State |
| 1998 | Chris Claiborne | USC |
| 1999 | LaVar Arrington | Penn State |
| 2000 | Dan Morgan | Miami |
| 2001 | Rocky Calmus | Oklahoma (3) |
| 2002 | E. J. Henderson | Maryland |
| 2003 | Teddy Lehman | Oklahoma (4) |
| 2004 | Derrick Johnson | Texas |
| 2005 | Paul Posluszny | Penn State (2) |
| 2006 | Patrick Willis | Ole Miss |
| 2007 | James Laurinaitis | Ohio State (2) |
| 2008 | Aaron Curry | Wake Forest |
| 2009 | Rolando McClain | Alabama (2) |
| 2010 | Von Miller | Texas A&M |
| 2011 | Luke Kuechly | Boston College |
| 2012 | Manti Te'o | Notre Dame |
| 2013 | C. J. Mosley | Alabama (3) |
| 2014 | Eric Kendricks | UCLA |
| 2015 | Jaylon Smith | Notre Dame (2) |
| 2016 | Reuben Foster | Alabama (4) |
| 2017 | Roquan Smith | Georgia |
| 2018 | Devin White | LSU |
| 2019 | Isaiah Simmons | Clemson |
| 2020 | Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah | Notre Dame (3) |
| 2021 | Nakobe Dean | Georgia (2) |
| 2022 | Jack Campbell | Iowa |
| 2023 | Payton Wilson | NC State |
| 2024 | Jalon Walker | Georgia (3) |

### Professional winners

| Year | Player | Team |
| 2008 | DeMarcus Ware | Dallas Cowboys |
| 2009 | Patrick Willis | San Francisco 49ers |
| 2010 | Clay Matthews III | Green Bay Packers |
| 2011 | Terrell Suggs | Baltimore Ravens |
| 2011 | DeMarcus Ware | Dallas Cowboys |
| 2012 | Von Miller | Denver Broncos |
| 2013 | NaVorro Bowman | San Francisco 49ers |
| 2014 | Luke Kuechly | Carolina Panthers |
| 2015 | Luke Kuechly | Carolina Panthers |
| 2016 | Khalil Mack | Oakland Raiders |
| 2017 | Luke Kuechly | Carolina Panthers |
| 2018 | Khalil Mack | Chicago Bears |
| 2019 | Chandler Jones | Arizona Cardinals |
| 2020 | T. J. Watt | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 2021 | Micah Parsons | Dallas Cowboys |
| 2022 | Roquan Smith | Baltimore Ravens |
| 2023 | Roquan Smith | Baltimore Ravens |

### High school winners

| Year | Player | School |
| 2008 | Manti Te'o | Punahou School (Honolulu, HI) |
| 2009 | Jordan Hicks | Lakota West High School (West Chester, OH) |
| 2010 | Tony Steward | Pedro Menendez High School (St. Augustine, FL) |
| 2011 | Noor Davis | Leesburg High School (Leesburg, FL) |
| 2012 | Jaylon Smith | Bishop Luers High School (Fort Wayne, IN) |
| 2013 | Raekwon McMillan | Liberty County High School (Hinesville, GA) |
| 2014 | Malik Jefferson | Ralph H. Poteet High School (Mesquite, TX) |
| 2015 | Caleb Kelly | Clovis West High School (Fresno, CA) |
| 2016 | Dylan Moses | IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL) |
| 2017 | Solomon Tuliaupupu | Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, CA) |
| 2018 | Nakobe Dean | Horn Lake High School (Horn Lake, MS) |
| 2019 | Justin Flowe | Upland High School (Upland, CA) |
| 2020 | Prince Kollie | David Crockett High School (Jonesborough, TN) |
| 2021 | Shawn Murphy | Unity Reed High School (Manassas, VA) |
| 2022 | Drayk Bowen | Andrean High School (Merrillville, IN) |
| 2023 | Sammy Brown | Jefferson High School (Jefferson, GA) |
| 2024 | Christian Jones | Westside High School (Omaha, NE) |