Tulsa’s Zaven Collins Named Semifinalist for The Butkus Award

CHICAGO, Ill. –– The University of Tulsa's Zaven Collins was named a semifinalist for the 36^th Annual Butkus Award honoring the nation's best collegiate linebacker, it was announced today by the Butkus Foundation.

On the collegiate level, the semifinal list includes 16 players. Finalists are expected to be announced on Dec. 7.

A 6'4" junior from Hominy, Okla., Collins has earned National Defensive Player of the Week three different weeks this season – once by the Chuck Bednarik Award, once by the Bronko Nagurski Award and once by the Walter Camp Foundation.

In six games, Collins has totaled 48 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, 4 sacks, 4 interceptions, 2 TDs off INTs, while being named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week four times. Two of his interceptions were game-clinchers, including a pickoff against #19 SMU that ended any possible final scoring drive for the Mustangs and his pick-6 in overtime against Tulane that he took 96 yards for the game-winning score.

Last year's Butkus Award winner was Clemson's Isaiah Simmons.

The Butkus Award® is presented by the Butkus Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization which advances health and wellness through special initiatives. This includes the I Play Clean® program encouraging athletes to play using their natural ability, and the Butkus Takes Heart™ program encouraging preventive heart scans and screening among adults.

As a middle linebacker at the University of Illinois (1962–64), Dick Butkus earned consensus All-America honors in 1963 and 1964.

Butkus was selected by the Bears and by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the NFL and the American Football League draft, respectively. He signed with his hometown team, and in his first year with the Bears (1965) he intercepted five passes and was selected for the first of eight consecutive Pro Bowls.

Butkus, who led the Bears in tackles in each of his first eight seasons in the league, was famous for his ability to strip the ball during a tackle. In a career shortened by injuries, he accumulated 1,020 tackles, 22 interceptions, and 27 fumble recoveries, the last an NFL record for a defensive player at the time of his retirement.

Tulsa’s Zaven Collins Named Semifinalist for The Butkus Award

Players Mentioned

Zaven Collins

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