sports_m-footbl_archive_m-footbl-butkus-winners

OU Football Tradition | Award Winners

Butkus Award | Official Site
The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985, has been given annually to the top linebacker in college football. The Award, named in honor of Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, is regarded as one of the elite individual in college football.

2003 | Teddy Lehman

Teddy Lehman was named the Butkus Award winner as the most outstanding linebacker in college football in 2003. OU has more Butkus Awards (four) than any other school. Rocky Calmus won the trophy in 2001 and Brian Bosworth won the first two awards presented in 1985 and 1986.

Lehman led the team with 117 tackles, including 63 solo, with two sacks and one interception. The Ft. Gibson, Okla., native also had a team-high 19 tackles for loss (47 yards) and forced a fumble.

Lehman was the leader of Oklahoma's top-ranked defense, helping the Sooners advance to the National Championship game in the Sugar Bowl against LSU.

Lehman was the pick over Texas' Derrick Johnson and Miami's Jonathan Vilma. The winner was determined by a vote of 28 national media members and announced at the Downtown Athletic Club in Orlando.

Career Statistics
Season	UT	AT	TT	TFL	INT	FF-FR	PBU
2000	7	4	11	3-10	0-0	0-0	0
2001	59	30	89	12-53	1-2	0-3	4
2002	85	27	112	17-47	2-51	1-2	7
2003	63	54	117	19-47	1-0	1-0	6
Totals	214	115	329	51-157	5-53	2-5	17

2001 | Rocky Calmus

Only a few players define their position, but that is precisely what Rocky Calmus meant to college football.

As a senior, he won the Dick Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker, but also was a finalist for the Nagurski and Bednarik Awards as the nation's best defender and the Lombardi Award as the country's top interior player.

His senior year total of 117 tackles vaulted him into Oklahoma's top five career tacklers and capped an incredible career. As a junior, he was named the toughest player in college football by The Sporting News during the Sooners' 2000 national championship season.

OU's all-time leader in tackles for a loss by a linebacker, Calmus was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press and was a finalist for the Butkus Award.

A first-team All Big 12 selection in each of his last three seasons, Calmus led the squad in tackles in each of those years. Calmus played through several injuries during his career including a fractured bone in his leg and a broken thumb.

He was drafted in the third round of the 2002 draft by the Tennessee Titans.

Career Statistics
Season	UT	AT	TT	TFL	INT	FF-FR	PBU
1998	30	25	55	11-38	0-0	2-0	1
1999	73	40	113	14-29	1-0	0-1	7
2000	64	61	125	17-61	1-41	2-3	7
2001	72	45	117	15-48	1 -33	0-2	9
Totals	239	171	410	57-176	3-74	4-6	24

1985, 1986 | Brian Bosworth

Brian Bosworth was a consensus All-American in both 1985 and 1986. One of the greatest college football players of all time, he set the school record for tackles in a game with 22 against Miami in 1986.

The only collegian ever to win the Butkus Award twice, he led the Sooners in tackles during 1984-86 along with being named All-Big Eight each of those years.

Also an excellent student, the "Boz" was a GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1986.

Taken in the 1987 supplemental draft by Seattle, Bosworth signed the richest contract in Seahawk history signing for 10 years for $11 million. He was moved to the weak side, even though he had spent his entire career on the strong side to make all the defensive calls. A shoulder injury forced him to retire after three years in the league.

Career Statistics
Season	UT	AT	TT	TFL	INT	FR	PBU
1984	75	55	128	8-24	1	2	5
1985	73	58	131	7-35	1	1	3
1986	80	56	136	12-30	0	1	4
Totals	228	169	395	27-89	2	4	12

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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