Buchanan, Spence Could Be Next UM Butkus Award Winner
July 14, 2011
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Two Miami linebackers, Ramon Buchanan and Sean Spence, were recently named to the 2011 Butkus Award watch list, which is given each year to the best linebacker in NCAA Division I-A college football. Miami is tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in number of players chosen for the list with two.
Buchanan enters his senior campaign after starting 10 of 13 games in 2010 and recording 54 tackles (fifth best on the team) and eight tackles for loss. The Melbourne, Fla. native amassed a career-high seven tackles in the Canes’ October 9th contest against Florida State and recorded six tackles in each of Miami’s games versus Florida A&M, Clemson, University of Virginia, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.
For Spence, this marks the fourth preseason watch list he has been named to. He was also recently placed on the 2011 watch lists for the Bednarik Award, Nagurski Trophy and Lombardi Award. The linebacker was voted Miami’s Most Valuable Player last season and was a 2010 Second-Team All-ACC selection with 111 tackles and 16 tackles for loss.
Dan Morgan was the first Hurricane to be lauded with the Butkus Award in 2000. That same year, he also earned the Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award, which are both given to college football’s best defensive player. Spence now has the unique opportunity to become the first Cane since Morgan to receive all three honors in the same season.
Instituted in 1985, The Butkus Award is one of the elite individual honors in college football. In 2008, The Butkus Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, took stewardship of the award 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.
The award’s recipient is chosen by the independent Butkus Award Selection Committee, which is headed by Pro Football Weekly’s Hub Arkush and is comprised of 51 experts including professional, college and high school scouts, and prominent sports journalists.
To see Buchanan, Spence and the rest of the Hurricanes in action this fall call 1-800-Go-Canes for tickets or purchase online through HurricaneSports.com.
