By Danielle Daniels
CHICAGO, IL — University of Maryland linebacker Jaishawn Barham has been selected to the preseason watch list for the 2023 Butkus Award, which recognizes the best linebackers in college football, it was announced Thursday.
Barham led all Big Ten freshmen with 58 tackles over 12 games played in his first season as a Terp. He was one of only three Maryland players (Brade, Trader) to start every game played on the defensive side of the ball. The linebacker posted five or more tackles in seven different games in 2022.
A 2022 FWAA Freshman All-American, Barham led the team with 6.5 tackles for loss, while also tying for the team lead and ranking 20th in the Big Ten with 4.0 sacks. Barham was a Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection, the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on October 10 and a 2022 College Football News First Team Freshman All-American. He was also chosen as a Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award Semifinalist.
The District Height, MD native is the first Terp on the Butkus Award Watch List since Jermaine Carter Jr. in 2017.
The award semifinalists are expected to be named Oct. 30 with finalists to follow Nov. 20. The winner will be named on or before Dec. 6. Appearing on the watch list is not a requirement to win the award.
All 2023 Butkus Award winners will be honored at a televised event in Jan. 2024. BTN (the Big Ten Network) aired the event last season, featuring Butkus and numerous noted NFL Alumni. To watch the show online via YouTube, click here.
Founded in 1985, the Butkus Award honors linebackers at three levels while supporting causes important to the Butkus family. Causes include the Butkus Takes HeartTM initiative encouraging early cardiovascular screening among adults, and the I Play Clean® initiative encouraging athletes to train naturally without performance-enhancing drugs.
A 51-member expert panel of coaches, scouts, and journalists guides the selection process. Past winners of the collegiate award include such greats as Patrick Willis, Von Miller, Luke Kuechly, Devin White, Roquan Smith and many more. The Butkus Award is increasingly focused on recognizing linebackers who consistently play off the ball on their feet in a two-point stance in traditional form.
COURTESY MARYLAND ATHLETICS
