With the start of the college football season, team rankings and preseason award lists dominate the headlines from a national perspective. A large number of South Carolina football players are featured on those lists, and Tuesday saw the announcement of the latest Gamecocks to receive some preseason praise.

The Dick Butkus Award, the honor given to the nation’s top linebacker, has announced its list of nominees for the 2024 preseason, and veterans Debo Williams and Demetrius Knight have been included.

The Butkus Award is named after College Football Hall of Fame member and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, who played for the Illinois Fighting Illini and Chicago Bears and is considered one of the few greatest defensive players of all time.

The Gamecock linebacker duo of Williams and Knight are two of the 51 players who made the watch list. The list includes both traditional linebackers and some stand-up EDGE players who spend a majority of their time on the field as outside linebackers.

Both Williams and Knight were all-conference players in 2023. Williams made the All-SEC team and was one of the league’s best tacklers. Knight was an All-Conference USA player with the Charlotte 49ers before transferring to Columbia this offseason.

For Williams, the middle linebacker position is his home. He is one of the best run stoppers in the conference and has worked hard in the offseason to get better in coverage. 2023 was his first year as a starter, as he was a backup in 2021 after transferring from Delaware and became a rotation player in 2022. Williams is also on the preseason watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, an award given to the best defensive player in the country.

Knight began his career with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and after switching from quarterback to linebacker, he decided to transfer to Charlotte for a better opportunity. He made the most of it, recording nearly 100 tackles. He is the heaviest full-time back on the roster but has really good speed for the position, so he can play any of the linebacker positions this fall.

Williams is clearly a starter this season, and Knight will be a big contributor (either as a starter or as a frequently used rotation piece). They are joined by Bangally Kamara, transferred from the Pittsburgh Panthers, and returning veteran Bam Martin-Scott as projected top-four players at the position. Mo Kaba, a player coming off two consecutive ACL tears, could play a role if he’s healthy, and freshmen Fred “JayR” Johnson and Wendell Gregory were 4-star prospects. Former walk-on Ronnie Porter also earned a scholarship this weekend.