Tulsa Linebacker Zaven Collins Named Finalist for the Butkus Award

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

One of the most dynamic linebackers in the nation, Collins is the first Tulsa player to be named a finalist for the Butkus Award.

The other finalists are Missouri's Nick Bolton, Devin Lloyd of Utah, Notre Dame's Jeremiah Owusu-Kormoah and Georgia's Monty Rice.

A 6'4" junior from Hominy, Okla., Collins has totaled 51 tackles, 11.5 TFLs for -49 yards, 4 sacks for -25 yards, 4 interceptions, 2 TDs off INTs, 2 pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery, as well as one safety. Two of his interceptions were game-clinchers, including a pickoff against No. 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 week, Collins was named one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for the National Defensive Player of the Year and is awarded by the Football Writer's Association of America (FWAA) and the Charlotte Touchdown Club. He is also a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which is also presented to the nation's top defensive player and awarded by the Maxwell Football Club.

This season, Collins earned National Defensive Player of the Week honors once each from the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Walter Camp Foundation. He has been named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week four times this year as well.

The winner will be announced on or before December 22. 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. The Butkus Award a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards. NCFAA's 25 awards have honored more than 800 since 1935.

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 Linebacker Zaven Collins Named Finalist for the Butkus Award

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