IOWA CITY – University of Iowa senior linebacker Josey Jewell has been named to the 2017 Butkus Award Watch List. The announcement was made Monday by the Butkus Foundation. The annual award is presented to college football’s best linebacker. Jewell was one of five finalists for the award in 2016.
Jewell (6-foot-2, 236-pounds), a native of Decorah, Iowa, started all 13 games at middle linebacker, leading the team with 124 tackles, which was second in the Big Ten. Jewell was a team captain in both 2015 and 2016. He was named Iowa’s Most Valuable Player on defense and was named second team All-Big Ten by the Associated Press and Big Ten coaches and media.
Former Hawkeye Larry Station was a finalist for the Butkus Award in 1985, while Chad Greenway was a semifinalist in 2005.
Jewell and the Hawkeyes open their season against Sept. 2, against Wyoming. The game is set for kickoff at 11 a.m. (CT).
