Quarterman Named Butkus Award Candidate
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Junior linebacker Shaq Quarterman was named to the watch list for the 2018 Butkus Award honoring the nation’s top linebacker, the Butkus Foundation announced Monday.
The preseason honor is the second for Quarterman, and represents the sixth major award watch list to include at least one Hurricane student-athlete this preseason.
A Freshman All-America and an All-ACC selection two seasons ago, Quarterman has been a dominant force since arriving on campus as a midyear enrollee in January of 2016. The Orange Park, Fla., native has started all 26 games since arriving on campus and in just two seasons, has piled up 167 total tackles, 17.0 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks, six passes defended and two fumble recoveries. He was named a second-team All-ACC selection as a sophomore.
Quarterman, who was also named to the watch list for the Bednarik Award honoring the nation’s top defensive player, joins senior Tyler Gauthier (Rimington Trophy as nation’s best center), junior Travis Homer, who was named to the watch list for both the Maxwell Award (college football’s player of the year) and the Doak Walker Award (top running back), senior Jaquan Johnson (Bednarik) and junior Ahmmon Richards (Maxwell Award and Biletnikoff Award as nation’s best receiver) as preseason honorees.
Semi-finalists will be named October 29, finalists November 19, and winners will be notified on or before December 4.
Formed in 1985, the Butkus Award was expanded in 2008 to honor linebackers at three levels while helping spread the word about Butkus’ I Play Clean® initiative which encourages teens to eat well, train hard, and play with
attitude without resorting to performance-enhancing drugs.
The Butkus Award, www.thebutkusaward.com and on Facebook at 51.butkus, is presented by the nonprofit Butkus Foundation. Selectors and selection criteria is located on the official website. Search social media for #butkusaward2018.
The Butkus Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. Its member-awards have honored more than 800 since 1935. Visit www.NCFAA.org for more information.
