A pair of Los Angeles junior lienbackers have been named to the Butkus Award watch list. Both Chris Galippo of USC and Akeem Ayers of UCLA were tabbed as players to watch for the award given annually to the nation’s top linebacker.
↵Ayers, has been named to several watch lists, per the UCLA What’s Bruin Blog:
↵↵↵UCLA junior outside linebacker has been named to several pre-season Watch Lists, such as those for the Lott Trophy, Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award and the Rotary Lombardi Award.
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No UCLA linebacker has won the Butkus Award, which has been awarded since 1985. Chris Claiborne was the only Trojan to win the award, in 1998.