Eastern Michigan Athletics
Holtzclaw Named to Dick Butkus Award Watch List
8/27/2006 2:38:00 PM | Football
EMU sophomore was a freshman All-American in 2005
ORLANDO, Fla.—Eastern Michigan University sophomore linebacker Daniel Holtzclaw (Enid, OK-Enid) has been named to the Dick Butkus Award Watch List for the 2006 football season the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Inc. has announced. The preliminary list includes 65 candidates from the NCAA Division I-A ranks.
A 6-foot-1, 230-pound sophomore middle linebacker, Holtzclaw was one of only three Mid-American Conference players named to the preseason list. The Butkus Award, named for linebacking great Dick Butkus, was created in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Fla. The watch list will be trimmed to 10 semifinalists, Oct. 19, the three finalists will be announced, Nov. 9, with the winner selected, Dec. 9.
The independent Butkus Award Selection Committee for 2006 is comprised of some of the nation's foremost journalists who are solely and exclusively responsible for all voting in the selection process. Additional candidates may be added in the coming weeks.
Holtzclaw stepped into the starting middle linebacker spot as a true freshman last year and started all 11 games at that position, finishing with 91 tackles, third best on the team. He earned freshman All-American awards from three separate news agencies: first-team honors by the Football Writer's of American, and third-team mention by both The Sporting News and CollegeFootballNew.com.
The Enid, OK product finished the 2005 season ranked 80th in the nation in total tackles at 8.27 per game, was the 13th leading tackler in the MAC with his 91 stops, and his five interceptions tied for ninth in the nation.
A complete 2006 preseason Dick Butkus Award Watch List follows.
The 2006 Dick Butkus Award Watch List
Name School
Daniel Holtzclaw Eastern Michigan
Jon Abbate Wake Forest
Rufus Alexander Oklahoma
Mike Alston Toledo
Dwayne Andrews Fresno State
Brandon Archer Kansas State
Jon Beason Miami (Fla.)
Beau Bell UNLV
Desmond Bishop California
H.B. Blades Pittsburgh
Keyonvis Bouie Florida International
Nick Bunting Tulsa
Rob Caldwell Navy
Matt Costelo San Jose State
Nelson Coleman Tulsa
Troy Collavo UTEP
Dan Connor Penn State
Maurice Crum Notre Dame
Buster Davis Florida State
Scott Davis Washington State
Jordan Dizon Colorado
Larry Edwards North Carolina
Earl Everett Florida
Anthony Felder California
Phillip Graves North Texas
KaMichael Hall Georgia Tech
Korey Hall Boise State
Vince Hall Virginia Tech
David Harris Michigan
Nate Harris Louisville
David Herron Michigan State
Ali Highsmith LSU
Ameer Ishmail Western Michigan
Jarvis Jackson Georgia
Cameron Jensen BYU
Jeremy Jones UTEP
Wade Koehl Houston
Zach Latimer Oklahoma
J Lehman Illinois
Rey Maualuga USC
Corey McKeon Nebraska
Kevin McLee West Virginia
Edmund Miles Iowa
Matt Muncy Ohio
Stephen Nicholas South Florida
Sam Olajubutu Arkansas
Blair Phillips Oregon
Jason Phillips TCU
Paul Posluszny Penn State
Keith Rivers USC
J.K. Sabb Middle Tennessee
John Shelvin Minnesota
Brandon Siler Florida
Juwan Simpson Alabama
Corey Smith Cincinnati
Kelvin Smith Syracuse
Mastaki Smith UAB
Dennis Thornton Marshall
Brian Toal Boston College
Justin Warren Texas A&M
Thaddaeus Washington Colorado
Anthony Waters Clemson
Patrick Willis Mississippi
Wesley Woodyard Kentucky
Mark Zalewski Wisconsin
