Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o received a phone call from former Chicago Bears great, Dick Butkus on Monday morning, informing him that he'd been named the 2012 recipient of the Butkus Award, given to the nation's best linebacker.
Te'o finished with 83 points in the Butkus Award voting system, ahead of Georgia's Jarvis Jones (54 points) and Alabama's C.J. Mosley (21). LSU's Kevin Minter and Oregon's Dion Jordan were tied for fourth.
Te'o is in Charlotte, N.C., for the Nagurski Trophy (for the nation's best defensive player) presentation tonight --After the Nagurski ceremony tonight, Te'o heads to New York for the Campbell Trophy (top scholar-athlete) on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he'll be in Houston for the Lombardi Award presentation (best lineman, though Te'o and Jones are both among the four finalists). On Thursday, Te'o heads to Orlando for the nationally televised Home Depot College Football Awards Show, where he'll be up for the Maxwell and Bednarik awards. Then on Friday, he'll likely be headed to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist (the finalists will be announced at 5 p.m. central time today). On Sunday, he'll head to Newport Beach, Calif., for the presentation of the Lott IMPACT Award.
Notre Dame recruit Jaylon Smith, of Fort Wayne Bishop Luers High School, also got a call from Butkus this morning, informing him he was the high school winner of the Butkus Award. Te'o was the first high school winner of the award.
