Laurinaitis Steals Butkus
James Laurinaitis walked away with the Butkus
Award last night beating out Penn State's
Dan Connor and Colorado's Jordan Dizon.
Presented annually to the top linebacker in the
college game, Laurinaitis is only the second
Ohio State player to win the award. The junior
linebacker led the team in tackles, second in
interceptions and third in sacks. Andy
Katzenmoyer was the first Buckeye recipient in
1997.
Winning the award was a surprise to many, including Laurinaitis himself:
Perhaps. His numbers were the lowest of the finalists and that has perturbed some Penn State fans who think Connor was jobbed. But there's a healthy dose of poetic justice here. Two years ago, AJ Hawk was egregiously passed over in favor of Paul Posluszny for Butkus. Wrong righted.
Winning the award was a surprise to many, including Laurinaitis himself:
I feel like I've stolen it from these two guys and am taking the trophy back to Columbus.
Perhaps. His numbers were the lowest of the finalists and that has perturbed some Penn State fans who think Connor was jobbed. But there's a healthy dose of poetic justice here. Two years ago, AJ Hawk was egregiously passed over in favor of Paul Posluszny for Butkus. Wrong righted.
