Two players from Ole Miss and another from Mississippi State were included on the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award, given out annually to the top linebacker in college football.
TJ Dottery and Andrew Jones represent the Rebels on the list. Dottery, a junior going into his second season in Oxford after transferring from Clemson, is the top returning tackler from 2024 at 76 total tackles. He added 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and one forced fumble.
Jones, who joins Lane Kiffin and company as a redshirt senior, comes to Ole Miss by way of Grambling State. In 2024, he was the SWAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year after totaling 122 tackles and 20.5 tackles for loss.
Dottery and Jones follow in the footsteps of Chris Paul Jr., who was part of the preseason group a year ago before going on to be named a finalist for the award. Georgia and now-Atlanta Falcon linebacker Jalon Walker eventually won it.
Mississippi State’s Jalen Smith is also on this year’s list, which includes 51 linebackers from across the nation expected to vie for the award.
Smith enters his first season with the Bulldogs after transferring from Tennessee. Expected to make an immediate impact for Mississippi State, Smith was named to the SEC All-Freshman team in 2024 with a stat line that included 34 tackles and 1.5 sacks per game.
The Butkus Award is a nod to Dick Butkus, who was an All-American at Illinois before going on to play nine seasons with the Chicago Bears before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Butkus was named the greatest defensive player in football history by NFL Films.
Butkus Award semifinalists will be named Nov. 4 and finalists on Nov. 25 before the winner is revealed on Dec. 10. Appearing on the preseason watch list is not a requirement to win the award.
