The Butkus Award, given to the country’s best collegiate linebacker, was won by Texas A&M’s senior Von Miller on Tuesday. Boston College’s Luke Kuechly finished second. Miller, captain of the 9-3 Aggies, finished the regular season with 59 tackles, 34 solo, forced three fumbles and recovered two.
College Football Awards: Butkus Award Goes To Texas A&M’s Von Miller
“Von Miller is an exceptional young man who displays outstanding ability on the football field with a rare combination of quickness, power, balance and body control, amazing initial quickness, and he closes on the ball with the authority only the true greats display,” said Hub Arkush, publisher of Pro Football Weekly and coordinator of the Butkus Award selection committee. “Off the field he possesses all of the qualities we look for in a Butkus honoree, is an inspiration to his teammates and fans, and a real credit to his family and university.”
Miller earned 75 points and 19 first place votes. B.C.‘s Kuechly finished second with 40 points and five first place votes, followed by Akeem Ayers of UCLA, Bruce Carter of North Carolina and Justin Houston of Georgia. The award is voted on by a panel of 51 coaches, recruiters, scouts and journalists coordinated by Pro Football Weekly.
Miller’s 9.5 sacks were enough to lead the Big 12 Conference for the second straight year, and they helped to earn him All Big-12 first team honors for the second straight season.
Texas A&M, No. 17 in the BCS rankings, faces No. 10 LSU in the AT&T Cotton Bowl on Jan. 7.
For more on Von Miller’s Butkus Award win, and all things Texas A&M, visit I Am The 12th Man
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