CHARLOTTE, NC (theACC.com) – Seven Atlantic Coast Conference linebackers were named to the preseason watch list for the 2024 Butkus Award on Tuesday, August 13. The Butkus Award recognizes the best defensive linebacker in college football.

The award is named after Dick Butkus, a College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker, and is given by the Butkus Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports various health and wellness activities, including the anti-steroid program “I Play Clean.”

The 51 linebackers on the watch list are a nod to the famous “51” professional jersey won by the award’s namesake, the late Dick Butkus, whose dogged leadership from the middle linebacker position earned him acclaim from NFL Films as the greatest defensive player in football history.

The linebackers representing the ACC on the prestigious preseason watch list are Clemson’s Barrett Carter, Miami’s Francisco Mauigoa, North Carolina’s Power Echols, NC State’s Sean Brown, Stanford’s Gaethan Bernadel, Syracuse’s Marlowe Wax and Virginia Tech’s Sam Brumfield.


Last year’s Butkus Award winner was the 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, NC State linebacker Payton Wilson, who was selected in the third round of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2024 NFL Draft.


Semifinalists for the 40th award are expected to be announced on Nov. 4, finalists on Nov. 25 and the winner by Dec. 10. A spot on the watch list is not a requirement to win the award. The 2024 Butkus Award winners at the high school, college and professional levels will be honored at an event scheduled for early 2025 at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium as part of the Big Ten Network television special.


The 51-member Butkus Award selection committee, comprised of coaches, scouts and journalists, guides the selection process, emphasizing the qualities that defined Dick Butkus’ career: toughness, leadership on the field, competitiveness, football character and linebacker skills. The award is increasingly focused on recognizing linebackers who consistently play without the ball while standing in a traditional two-point stance.


ACC representatives on the preseason watch list for the 2024 Butkus Award:



Name, School, Class, Position
Barrett Carter, Clemson, senior, LB
Francisco Mauigoa, Miami, Sr., LB
Power Echols, North Carolina, senior, LB
Sean Brown, NC State, redshirt junior, LB
Gaethan Bernadel, Stanford, senior, LB
Marlowe Wax, Syracuse, Sr., LB
Sam Brumfield, Virginia Tech, redshirt senior, LB



ACC Football Notes

• The ACC is the conference of quarterbacks, with the return of full-time starters Thomas Castellanos of Boston College, Cade Klubnik of Clemson, Grayson Loftis of Duke, Haynes King of Georgia Tech, Preston Stone of SMU and Kyron Drones of Virginia Tech, as well as transfers DJ Uiagalelei of Florida State, Tyler Shough of Louisville, Cam Ward of Miami, Grayson McCall of NC State and Kyle McCord of Syracuse, to name a few.

  • ACC had 10 quarterbacks on the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award, no other conference had more.
  • Eight ACC quarterbacks were named to the preseason watch list for the Davey O’Brien Award, more than any other conference.
  • ACC has the top-ranked group of quarterback transfers in 2024, according to CBS Sports.
  • 13 quarterbacks in the league will start the 2024 season with over 20 touchdown passes and 3,500 passing yards.
  • Eight quarterbacks from ACC schools are expected to start in the first week of the 2024 NFL season – that’s 25 percent of NFL teams.
  • Since 2018, the ACC has had at least one quarterback selected in the first round in five different drafts – the only conference to do so.

• The ACC’s non-conference schedule continues to be the most demanding in the country.

  • 27 games against Power 4 opponents, including Notre Dame, the most of any conference.
  • Nine non-conference games against teams ranked in the final 2023 Associated Press Top 25 poll, more than from any other conference.
  • 10 non-conference games against teams in ESPN’s 2024 Way-Too-Early Top 25, the most of any conference.

• ACC is characterized by first-class coaching management

  • As announced by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Peach Bowl, six ACC head coaches were named to the 2024 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List; no other conference has more.
  • Two of the three active coaches to win a national title come from the ACC – Dabo Swinney led Clemson to national titles in 2016 and 2018. North Carolina’s Mack Brown won a national title at Texas in 2005.

• The 2024 ACC Football Championship Game will kick off on Saturday, December 7, in prime time at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

About the Butkus Award

Established in 1985, the Butkus Award® is one of the elite individual awards originally presented each year to one player in college football: the most influential linebacker in the game. In 2008, the Butkus Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, assumed administration of the award to fully realize its original purpose of honoring athletic achievement and service to the community. Since then, the award has honored the nation’s top high school, college and professional linebackers. An independent Butkus Award Selection Committee conducts the selection process each year. The committee is comprised of 51 experts, including professional, college and high school scouts and prominent sportswriters.

About the NCFAA

Founded in 1997, the National College Football Awards Association presents the most prestigious awards in college football. Since 1935, its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients. For more information about the NCFAA and its awards programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow us on X at @NCFAA.

About the ACC

Now in its 72nd year and with 18 members, the Atlantic Coast Conference is one of the most competitive and respected intercollegiate conferences in the country. ACC members include Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, who are committed to upholding the league’s founding values ​​of academic excellence, top-level athletic competition and integrity. The ACC supports 28 NCAA sports, including 15 for women and 13 for men, and its member institutions span 12 states. In August 2019, the ACC and ESPN partnered to launch the ACC Network (ACCN), a 24/7 national network dedicated exclusively to ACC sports and original programming. For more information, visit theACC.com. Follow the ACC on Instagram (@accsports), Twitter (@theACC) and Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).