Davis Named Finalist for Butkus Award
Monday, November 21, 2016 | Football
Jarrad Davis is one of five finalists for the 32nd annual Butkus Award.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Senior linebacker Jarrad Davis has been named a finalist for the 32nd annual Butkus Award as announced by the Butkus Foundation on Monday. The award honors the nation's best collegiate and high school linebackers.
Davis, who was named as one of 19 finalists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, one of five finalists for the 2016 Pop Warner College Football Award and a semi-finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, has been one of Florida's leaders on and off the field this season.
Overall this season, Davis has played and started in eight games for the Gators, having missed UF's last two contests with an ankle injury. Despite missing some time, he currently leads the team with 56 solo tackles and he's third with six tackles-for-loss. In addition, he has totaled two sacks, four hurries and four pass breakups. As a team, Davis is anchoring a defense that leads the SEC in passing defense (160.0), team passing efficiency defense (95.04) and ranks second in total defense (282.4) and scoring defense (13.0).
Off the field, Davis is an advertising major at the University of Florida and was named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll in 2013. In the community, Davis has spent over 25 hours volunteering at various organizations around Gainesville since he arrived on campus. Those organizations include Shands Hospital, Boys & Girls Club, Williams Elementary School, Habitat for Humanity and the Newberry Library, and he has also spoken to a Little League team, among other activities.
Davis is questionable for this weekend's game due to his ankle injury.
Joining the Camden County, Ga. native on the collegiate list is Kendall Beckwith (LSU), Zach Cunningham (Vanderbilt), Reuben Foster (Alabama) and Josey Jewell (Iowa).
The winner will be announced on or before December 6. Selection is handled by a panel of 51 coaches, recruiters, scouts and journalists who vote separately and confidentially using a 3-2-1 process. Selectors and selection criteria are posted at www.thebutkusaward.com.
The Butkus Award® is presented by the Butkus Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization. In addition to honoring top linebackers, the Butkus Award helps spread the word about the I Play Clean™ initiative which encourages teens to eat well, train hard, and play with attitude instead of resorting to performance-enhancing drugs. The Butkus Award is part of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which includes the 22 most prestigious awards in college football with 722 years of selection excellence.
Players Mentioned
LB
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