CHICAGO — BYU linebacker Ben Bywater was named Thursday to the Butkus Award preseason watch list for a second consecutive season.
The prestigious award, presented annually to the most impactful linebacker in college football, was named after Dick Butkus who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983. The 2023 watch list contains 51 linebackers, mirroring the No. 51 jersey worn by the award’s namesake.
Bywater, a 6-3, 235-pound junior from Salt Lake City was recently selected as a Lott IMPACT Trophy candidate for the second consecutive season and was named to the 2023 Phil Steele Preseason All-Big 12 Third Team as well as the Athlon Sports Preseason All-Big 12 Fourth Team.
As a sophomore in 2022, Bywater led BYU in tackles with 98, becoming first player to lead the Cougars in tackles in back-to-back seasons since current San Francisco 49er All-Pro Fred Warner did so in 2016-17. In addition, Bywater recorded four tackles-for-loss, one sack, three interceptions and two pass breakups during the 2022 season.
Bywater was named the 2022 New Mexico Bowl Defensive MVP after recording his first career pick-six in a game-changing play that helped BYU defeat SMU 24-23. He was named 2022 Phil Steele All-Independent Second Team and was selected to the Associated Press All-Bowl Team for his outstanding play in the New Mexico Bowl.
The junior linebacker also excelled in the classroom, being named Academic All-District in 2022 by the College Sports Communicator for a second consecutive year. Bywater has a 3.65 GPA in the finance program in the Marriott School of Business and was a 2022 candidate for CSC Academic All-American for the second year in a row.
Semifinalists for the 2022 Butkus Award are expected to be named on Oct. 30, with the finalists announced on Nov. 20. As part of the National College Football Awards Association, which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards, the Butkus Award winner will be presented in early December during The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.
Founded in 1985, the Butkus Award is presented by the Butkus Foundation and selected by a 51-member expert panel of coaches, scouts and journalists. The Butkus Award honors the nation’s best linebacker, while supporting causes important to the Butkus family. Causes include Butkus Takes Heart initiative encouraging early cardiovascular screening among adults as well as the I Play Clean initiative, encouraging athletes to train naturally without performance-enhancing drugs.
Michael Barrett, Michigan
JD Bertrand, Notre Dame
Tatum Bethune, Florida State
Ben Bywater, BYU
Abdul Carter, Penn State
Barrett Carter, Clemson
Aaron Casey, Indiana
Steele Chambers, Ohio State
Mason Cobb, USC
Khari Coleman, Ole Miss
Junior Colson, Michigan
Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M
Shaun Dolac, Buffalo
Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia
Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State
JaQues Evans, WKU
Justin Flowe, Arizona
Jaylan Ford, Texas
Dallas Gant, Toledo
Easton Gibbs, Wyoming
Cedric Gray, North Carolina
Cal Haladay, Michigan State
Jason Henderson, Old Dominion
Ty’Ron Hopper, Missouri
Nick Jackson, Iowa
Curtis Jacobs, Penn State
Jestin Jacobs, Oregon
Jason Johnson, UCF
Tyrice Knight, UTEP
Deontae Lawson, Alabama
Marist Liufau, Notre Dame
Jordan Magee, Temple
Jackson Mitchell, UConn
Smael Mondon Jr., Georgia
Darius Muasau, UCLA
Maema Njongmeta, Wisconsin
Chris Paul Jr., Arkansas
Harold Perkins Jr., LSU
John Pius, William & Mary
Tyreem Powell, Rutgers
Karene Reid, Utah
DJ Schramm, Boise State
Jackson Sirmon, Cal
Omar Speights, LSU
Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma
Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Clemson
Trevin Wallace, Kentucky
Nathaniel Watson, Mississippi State
Marlowe Wax, Syracuse
Payton Wilson, N.C. State