Everett and Siler Named To Butkus Award Watch List
Thursday, August 24, 2006 | Football
University of Florida linebackers Earl Everett (Webster, Fla.) and Brandon Siler (Orlando, Fla.) have been named to the Butkus Award Watch list, as announced Thursday by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando. The award is given annually to the nation's best collegiate linebacker.
Everett, a senior, led the Gators with 72 tackles in 2005, including a career-high 14 against LSU. He has tallied 188 career tackles, including 12.5 for loss, 8.5 sacks and two interceptions in three years as a starter at Florida.
Siler, a junior, recovered seven fumbles last season to pace the Southeastern Conference. He added 64 tackles, good for second on the team, and five sacks, while also earning first-team Academic All-District III honors from ESPN The Magazine. In 2004, Siler was named the SEC Freshman of the Year after tallying 77 tackles and two sacks.
SEC linebackers garnered eight selections to the Butkus Award Watch List, tying the Atlantic Coast Conference and the BIG EAST for the top total. Florida is the only SEC school, and one of only six schools overall, to place two players on the list.
No Gator has ever won the Butkus Award, but seven players have reached the semifinal round, most recently Channing Crowder in 2004. Jevon Kearse is the only finalist is school history, reaching the final three in 1998.
The Butkus Award will be trimmed to 10 semifinalists on Thursday, Oct. 19, with the list of three finalists set to be released on Thursday, Nov. 9. NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus will personally present the award to the winner at the Butkus Award Gala in Orlando on Dec. 9.
The 2006 Butkus Award Watch List
| Name | School |
| Jon Abbate | Wake Forest |
| Rufus Alexander | Oklahoma |
| Mike Alston | Toledo |
| Dwayne Andrews | Fresno State |
| Brandon Archer | Kansas State |
| Jon Beason | Miami (Fla.) |
| Beau Bell | UNLV |
| Desmond Bishop | California |
| H.B. Blades | Pittsburgh |
| Keyonvis Bouie | Florida International |
| Nick Bunting | Tulsa |
| Rob Caldwell | Navy |
| Matt Castelo | San Jose State |
| Nelson Coleman | Tulsa |
| Troy Collavo | UTEP |
| Dan Connor | Penn State |
| Maurice Crum | Notre Dame |
| Buster Davis | Florida State |
| Scott Davis | Washington State |
| Jordan Dizon | Colorado |
| Larry Edwards | North Carolina |
| Earl Everett | FLORIDA |
| Anthony Felder | California |
| Phillip Graves | North Texas |
| KaMichael Hall | Georgia Tech |
| Korey Hall | Boise State |
| Vince Hall | Virginia Tech |
| David Harris | Michigan |
| Nate Harris | Louisville |
| David Herron | Michigan State |
| Ali Highsmith | LSU |
| Dan Holtzclaw | Eastern Michigan |
| Ameer Ismail | Western Michigan |
| Jarvis Jackson | Georgia |
| Cameron Jensen | BYU |
| Jeremy Jones | UTEP |
| Wade Koehl | Houston |
| Zach Latimer | Oklahoma |
| J Leman | Illinois |
| Rey Maualuga | Southern California |
| Corey McKeon | Nebraska |
| Kevin McLee | West Virginia |
| Edmund Miles | Iowa |
| Matt Muncy | Ohio |
| Stephen Nicholas | South Florida |
| Sam Olajabutu | Arkansas |
| Blair Phillips | Oregon |
| Jason Phillips | TCU |
| Paul Posluszny | Penn State |
| Keith Rivers | Southern California |
| J.K. Sabb | Middle Tennessee |
| John Shelvin | Minnesota |
| Brandon Siler | FLORIDA |
| Juwan Simpson | Alabama |
| Corey Smith | Cincinnati |
| Kelvin Smith | Syracuse |
| Mastaki Smith | UAB |
| Dennis Thornton | Marshall |
| Brian Toal | Boston College |
| Justin Warren | Texas A&M |
| Thaddaeus Washington | Colorado |
| Anthony Waters | Clemson |
| Patrick Willis | Mississippi |
| Wesley Woodyard | Kentucky |
| Mark Zalewski | Wisconsin |
- UF -
