Jalon Walker named semifinalist for 2024 Butkus Award

Georgia Bulldogs football linebacker Jalon Walker has been named a semifinalist for the 2024 Butkus Award, The Butkus Foundation has announced.

The Butkus Award, named after legendary linebacker Dick Butkus, is an annual college football award given to the nation’s best linebacker by The Butkus Foundation.

Finalists for the Butkus Award will be announced on Monday, Nov. 25 and winners will be notified on or before Tuesday, Dec. 10.

Nakobe Dean is the last UGA player to claim the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker. Dean was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Jalon Walker (6-2, 245) hails from Salisbury, N.C. Through eight games this season, he has 34 tackles and is the team leader with 5.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Walker also has a pair of fumble recoveries.

Last month, Jalon Walker was named a Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Semifinalist. That award is given annually to the college football player who has “…demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.”

The Georgia Bulldogs are next scheduled to travel to Oxford, Miss., to take on the Ole Miss Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 9. The game will be televised by ABC and streamed via ESPN+ at 3:30pm ET (Buy Tickets).

2024 UGA Football Schedule