Aug. 25, 2005
ORLANDO - UCF senior linebacker James Cook was recognized by The Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Inc. (DACO), as the organization named Cook to its preseason watch list for the prestigious Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's best collegiate linebacker.
The Butkus Award Watch List will be trimmed to 10 semi-finalists on Thursday, October 20. That semi-finalist list will be cut down to three finalists, which will be announced via a national teleconference with players, coaches, media members and Butkus Award officials on Thursday, November 10. The winner will be announced Saturday, December 10, 2005 at the Butkus Award Gala in Orlando, FL. The Butkus Award will be presented to the winner by the award's namesake former University of Illinois and Chicago Bear NFL Hall of Fame member, Dick Butkus. The finalists, their coaches and families are invited to attend the Butkus Award Gala festivities including a welcome reception, golf tournament and silent auction.
This year's Watch List includes 65 noteworthy candidates that represent schools and conferences from across the nation. The independent selection committee for the 2005 Butkus Award(r), comprised of 29 of the nation's foremost national media members, is solely responsible for all voting in the selection process. Selection Committee members have already started evaluating the candidates and will continue their review throughout the entire football season. Additional Watch List candidates may be added in the coming weeks. Voting for the three Butkus Award(r) finalists and the Butkus Award(r) winner will be conducted by confidential ballots of the selection committee.
2005 BUTKUS AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Rufus Alexander, OklahomaJon Alston, StanfordBrandon Archer, Kansas StateH.B. Blades, PittsburghTrent Bray, Oregon StateAhmad Brooks, VirginiaAbe Brown, LouisvilleNick Bunting, TulsaAnthony Cannon, TulaneJames Cook, UCF="http:>Bernard Davis, TroyWill Derting, Washington StateTim Dobbins, Iowa StateShomari Earls, Florida AtlanticLee Foliaki, Texas A&MOmar Gaither, TennesseeChad Greenway, IowaGeorge Hall, PurdueKorey Hall, Boise StateJames Hargrave, ConnecticutAaron Harris, TexasSpencer Havner, UCLAA.J. Hawk, Ohio StateRay Henderson, Boston CollegeAbdul Hodge, IowaThomas Howard, UTEPBrandon Hoyte, Notre DameClint Ingram, OklahomaBrian Iwuh, ColoradoCameron Jensen, BYUBrandon Johnson, LouisvilleLeverne Johnson, TroyAnthony Jordan, ToledoJavan Lee, Northern IllinoisJoe Lobendahn, WashingtonTim McGarigle, NorthwesternKevin McLee, West VirginiaJ.J. Milan, NevadaChris Moore, East CarolinaMike Mohoric, New MexicoTerna Nande, Miami (OH)Stephen Nicholas, USFA.J. Nicholson, Florida StateMoses Osemwegie, VanderbiltJustin Parrish, Kent StateTeddy Piepkow, Bowling GreenPaul Posluszny, Penn StateNick Reid, KansasDontez Sanders, WisconsinByron Santiago, Louisiana TechDallas Sartz, USCBrandon Siler, FloridaKevin Simon, TennesseeErnie Sims, Florida StateKelvin Smith, SyracuseTony Taylor, GeorgiaBrian Toal, Boston CollegeSpencer Toone, UtahCameron Vaughn, LSUJustin Warren, Texas A&MThaddeus Washington, ColoradoGerris Wilkinson, Georgia TechTravis Williams, AuburnLaMarr Woodley, Michigan