COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M senior Von Miller (DeSoto, Texas) received the 2010 Butkus Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top collegiate linebacker, in a surprise ceremony from the Award’s namesake Dick Butkus on Tuesday at the Bright Football Complex on the A&M campus.
“We as a team are very proud of Von Miller’s accomplishments this year and winning the prestigious Butkus Award is the exclamation point to his senior season,” Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman said. “As proud as I am of the football player he has become, I am even more proud of the man he has become. He has represented himself, his family, his team and Texas A&M impeccably. Although I will miss him when he leaves us after the bowl game, he has ignited an enthusiasm and passion with our team that will sustain us for years to come. He has worked extremely hard to achieve the level of success he is being recognized with this award. I am extremely happy for his success.”
Butkus, a member of the College Football and NFL Halls of Fame, presented the award to Miller at a regularly scheduled team meeting in the Hagner Auditorium amid loud cheers from his teammates. Other finalists for the award were Akeem Ayers of UCLA, Bruce Carter of North Carolina, Justin Houston of Georgia and Luke Kuechly of Boston College. The Butkus Award has been presented annually since 1985, and honors the nation’s best high school, college and professional linebackers.
A 2009 first-team All-American, Miller enters the bowl season as the Big 12 sack leader for the second straight year with 9.5 sacks in 2010. An unanimous All-Big 12 selection at linebacker by The Associated Press this season, Miller was arguably the conference’s most disruptive defender with 9.5 sacks, 14.5 tackles for losses, six batted down passes, three forced fumbles and two recovered fumbles.
It was a sweet reward for the humble Miller, who considered entering the NFL Draft after posting a NCAA-best 17 QB sacks in 2009. Miller’s return to the Aggies has helped the A&M defense return to Wrecking Crew status. After 12 games, A&M’s defense has improved an average of 62 spots in the NCAA statistics in the four major defensive categories – total defense, rushing defense, pass efficiency defense and scoring defense. The Aggies led the Big 12 in rushing defense and rank in the top four in all four categories.
Miller joins John David Crow, Dat Nguyen and Stephen McGee as Texas A&M winners of major national awards. Crow was the 1957 Heisman Trophy winner; Nguyen, A&M’s current inside linebacker coach, won the Rotary Lombardi Award and the Bednarik Award in 1998; and McGee received the Fellowship of Christian Athletics/Bowden Award in 2007.
“We as a team are very proud of Von Miller’s accomplishments this year and winning the prestigious Butkus Award is the exclamation point to his senior season. As proud as I am of the football player he has become, I am even more proud of the man he has become. He has represented himself, his family, his team and Texas A&M impeccably. Although I will miss him when he leaves us after the bowl game, he has ignited an enthusiasm and passion with our team that will sustain us for years to come. He has worked extremely hard to achieve the level of success he is being recognized with this award. I am extremely happy for his success.”
Texas A&M Head Football Coach Mike Sherman*
*Coach Sherman was in New York to attend the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame induction ceremonies for former Texas A&M player Ray Childress along with current Texas A&M University System Board of Regent and former Texas A&M player and head football coach Gene Stallings.